COVID-19 | Specialty

The OncLive COVID-19 condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted multiple areas of oncology care and practice. This page features news articles, interviews in written and video format, and podcasts encompassing data of patients with COVID-19 and cancer, oncology drugs being tested against the virus, vaccine information for patients with cancer, and more.

Misinformation on Cancer Prevention Stems from COVID-19 Communication Efforts

August 15th 2021

One year ago, few objective observers would have suggested that the percentage of individuals who are currently fully vaccinated is less than 30%, despite the well-documented real-world success data for the vaccines in preventing serious illness, hospitalizations, and death from COVID-19 infection.

Cancer Screening Tests Rebound Following First Peak of COVID-19 Pandemic

August 10th 2021

After a dramatic decrease during the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a substantial increase in cancer screening procedures during more recent time periods has been reported.

Dr. Labaki on Disparities in Mammography Screenings During the COVID-19 Pandemic

August 9th 2021

Chris Labaki, MD, discusses racial disparities with regard to mammography screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Trinh on the Recovery of Cancer Screening Tests Following First COVID-19 Pandemic Peak

August 9th 2021

Quoc-Dien Trinh, MD, discusses findings from a study examining the temporal changes in cancer tests and diagnoses in a large healthcare system in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ACCC Report: Immunotherapy Research Grew in 2020 Despite COVID-19 Pandemic

August 7th 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic had a relatively limited effect on immuno-oncology research, according to results from the Association of Community Cancer Centers fourth annual analysis of the IO landscape.

Rariy Reviews In-Home Infusion Initiative in Oncology

August 2nd 2021

Chevon M. Rariy, MD, discusses how the implementation of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the need for increased access to care for patients with cancer, as well as the potential benefits in-home infusions could offer to patients receiving chemotherapy.

Cancer Organizations Call for Mandated COVID-19 Vaccines for Health Care Workers

July 26th 2021

More than 50 health care professional organizations, including the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the Society for Gynecologic Oncology, and the American Medical Association issued a joint statement Monday calling for all health care employers to require COVID-19 vaccinations for all their employees.

COVID-19 Vaccine Fails to Deliver SARS-CoV-2 Spike Antibody Responses in Multiple Myeloma

July 18th 2021

Suboptimal antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination have been reported in patients with multiple myeloma, leaving them at a greater risk for developing severe COVID-19.

Patients With Urological Cancer and COVID-19 Undergoing Elective Surgery at Higher Risk for Mortality

July 10th 2021

Patients with a urological cancer who were also infected with COVID-19 and undergoing elective surgery for their disease, were found to have a significantly higher likelihood of experiencing respiratory complications and mortality than those without the virus.

Urologic Care Rates Decline Across US Demographics During Height of COVID-19 Pandemic

July 9th 2021

The provision of urologic care underwent a significant decline during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic across all demographic groups and practice settings in the United States, regardless of the timing of stay-at-home order mandates.

CTCA Leaders Provide Post-Pandemic Predictions in Oncology

July 8th 2021

Dr. Rariy, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Greenman discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant delay in cancer diagnoses, impacted the training of oncologists, and revolutionized telehealth.

COVID-19 Vaccination Induces High Seroconversion Rates in Patients With Cancer, But Novel Strategies Needed for Select Subsets

July 8th 2021

Balazs Halmos, MD, MS, discusses a study examining the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with cancer and identified important areas for future research.

Highlighting the Efficacy of VaxEffect With Immune Response to COVID-19 Vaccines

July 8th 2021

Renold Capocasale and Grant Morgan, PhD, PMP, both of FlowMetric Life Sciences, Inc., discuss the vaccination immune response monitoring platform VaxEffect and its clinical application, as well as potential next steps for immune response tests with other vaccines aside from COVID-19.

In-Home Infusions Could Continue to Bridge Disparities in Cancer Care

July 8th 2021

A silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the rapid uptake of telemedicine and virtual health care for patients with cancer.

SARS-CoV2 Data: Real‐World Results of Environmental Surface Testing From a Large Tertiary Cancer Center

July 7th 2021

Patients with hematologic malignancies, which include cancers that affect the blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes, have demonstrated a higher susceptibility to COVID-19 potentially because of inherent and cancer therapy–related immunosuppression.

Scientific Communication Requires a Course Correction

July 2nd 2021

The overall picture related to COVID-19 in the Unites States is encouraging, and we might suspect that the American public would be relatively united with favorable views of efforts of public health officials and organizations at the national, state, and local levels to successfully control this terrible event and return us to our prepandemic state.

FDA Grants Emergency Use Authorization to Tocilizumab for COVID-19

June 25th 2021

The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization for intravenous tocilizumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients who have been hospitalized, are receiving systemic corticosteroids, and require supplemental oxygen, noninvasive or invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Dr. Halmos on the Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccines in Patients With Cancer

June 25th 2021

Balazs Halmos, MD, discusses the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines in patients with cancer.

Halmos Highlights Effort Exploring COVID-19 Vaccines in Patients With Cancer

June 24th 2021

Dr. Halmos discusses the data from a study examining seroconversion rates following COVID-19 vaccination among patients with cancer and underscores the need for novel vaccination or passive immunization strategies for immunosuppressed cohorts.

Questions Linger Around COVID-19’s Origin

June 24th 2021

Was it natural zoonotic spillover that catapulted SARS-CoV-2 from an emerging virus into a pandemic pathogen or was it something much more sinister? Is it at all possible that a lab leak in Wuhan, China, was the spark that lit the fuse?