Gynecologic Oncologist Describes His New Normal in a New York Hospital
During the COVID-19 pandemic, The ASCO Post will be interviewing oncologists on how they and their centers are dealing with the crisis. Here, we speak with Alexander Melamed, MD, MPH, a gynecologic oncologist and Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia...
NIH Begins Clinical Trial of Combination Regimen to Treat COVID-19
A clinical trial has begun to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health...
Novel Imaging Application Illuminates Processes in Cancer, COVID-19
Medical images for a wide range of diseases, including COVID-19, can now be more easily viewed, compared, and analyzed using a Web-based imaging platform developed by Massachusetts General Hospital and collaborating researchers. The Open Health Imaging Foundation (OHIF) Web viewer was originally...
Is Estrogen Protective Against COVID-19?
Reports suggest that the severity of coronavirus infection may be significantly more pronounced in men than in women.1 Studies have demonstrated that estrogen reduces both influenza virus replication in human female nasal epithelial cells2 and moderates the cytokine storm in murine models of this...
Roswell Park Investigators Study Immunotherapy Combination in Patients With Cancer Infected With COVID-19
A clinical trial investigating a two-drug immunotherapy combination will soon be available to patients with cancer infected with COVID-19 at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized clinical researchers at the center to conduct...
Treating Patients With Leukemia During the COVID-19 Era at MD Anderson Cancer Center
As part of a series of interviews with cancer experts during the COVID-19 pandemic, The ASCO Post spoke with Hagop Kantarjian, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, about the impact of the pandemic on treatment of...
NIH Aims to Quantify Undetected Cases of Coronavirus Infection
A new study has begun recruiting at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, to determine how many adults in the United States without a confirmed history of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have antibodies to the virus. The presence of antibodies in...
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Is Propelling the Delivery of Home Care for Patients With Cancer
In 2019, the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center began planning a demonstration program, called Cancer Care at Home, to broaden the delivery of oncology treatments to patients in the home setting. The existing services offered by Penn...
Evolving Insights Into COVID-19 and Cancer Care
Pulling together the 2020 American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting in less than 1 month was a Herculean task, and an important component was producing a session on COVID-19 and cancer care. This special session involved researchers from the front lines of the pandemic...
Overcoming the Challenges of Presenting the ASCO Annual Meeting During the COVID-19 Pandemic
As the worldwide cases of the coronavirus started to mount in February and March, medical societies and organizations monitoring the escalating COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international and domestic travel made the difficult decision to postpone or cancel their scientific conferences. On...
ASTRO Survey Finds Fewer Patients Visiting Radiation Oncology Clinics, Despite Enhanced COVID-19 Safety Measures
Despite facing challenges such as limited access to personal protective equipment (PPE) following the COVID-19 outbreak, radiation oncology clinics quickly implemented safety and process enhancements that allowed them to continue caring for patients, according to a new national survey conducted by...
Lessons Learned on Rotation at COVID-19 Inpatient Service at New York City Hospital
AS I WRITE TO YOU, I am happy to report I have just completed a 7-day rotation at the COVID-19 inpatient service at my hospital in New York City! Overall, it was a positive experience, despite the occasional sad and scary moments. I left the service feeling uplifted and fulfilled. I am glad to have ...
COVID-19 Infection in Pediatric Patients With Cancer
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Boulad et al found a low rate of COVID-19 morbidity among infected pediatric patients with cancer seen in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center pediatric program, as well as a low rate of infection in patients without COVID-19...
Online Guide Offers Tips for Communicating With Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A NEW ONLINE GUIDE provides tips to help oncology and other clinicians navigate the difficult and distressing communications with patients that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anthony Back, MD, a medical oncologist and palliative medicine specialist at the University of Washington and...
ASCO Special Report Provides Guidance to Oncology Practices on Resuming Cancer Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic
ASCO has released the ASCO Special Report: A Guide to Cancer Care Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic, which provides detailed guidance to oncology practices on the immediate and short-term steps that could be taken to help protect the safety of patients and health-care staff before resuming more ...
Do Men Treated With ADT for Prostate Cancer Have a Lower Risk of Acquiring COVID-19?
A study of 4,532 men in the Veneto region of Italy has found that those who were being treated for prostate cancer with androgen-deprivation therapies (ADT) were less likely to develop COVID-19, and if they were infected, their disease tended to be less severe. This research was published by...
NIH-Led ACTIV Program for the Development of COVID-19 Vaccines
In an article published in Science, Lawrence Corey, MD; John R. Mascola, MD; Anthony S. Fauci, MD; and Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, describe the composition and aims of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-led Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) partnership....
Cancer Care at Tata Memorial Centre During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In correspondence published in The New England Journal of Medicine, two practitioners from Tata Memorial Centre, India’s largest cancer center, describe measures taken to continue providing cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. As related by the authors, scaling back of operations at...
10 Changes I Will Make in My Oncology Practice as a Result of COVID-19
As a result of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19) global pandemic, medicine—including oncology practice—will never be the same. We find ourselves in a time of emergency medicine for all specialties, technologic innovation (eg, more prevalent use of...
Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, on Cancer Treatment in the Age of COVID-19: Personal Observations
Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, talks about the ways in which social distancing and viral fears have affected the way he delivers treatment for his patients, as well as the effect on their psyches—and his. Recorded April 10, 2020.
New Study Shows Patients With Cancer Had Lower Rates of Detected COVID-19 Antibodies vs Health-Care Workers
Results from an analysis involving both patients with cancer and health-care workers at Centre Léon Bérard in Lyon, France, showed that patients with cancer had a significantly lower detection rate of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies 15 days or more after COVID-19 symptoms and a positive reverse transcription ...
Cancer vs COVID-19: Clinical Trial Research During the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed cancer care, seemingly overnight, as practices scrambled to ensure a safe environment for caregivers and patients. Although regulatory burdens have been relaxed to allow patients to continue on trial treatment and telemedicine has expanded its competency and reach, ...
How the Lung Cancer Community Came Together During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus) has created a host of diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up problems for patients with cancer of all types, and this is particularly true for patients with lung cancer, their families, and providers. Everyone wanted to...
Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, on Cancer Treatment in the Age of COVID-19: Personal Observations
Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, talks about the ways in which social distancing and viral fears have affected the way he delivers treatment for his patients, as well as the effect on their psyches—and his. Recorded April 10, 2020.
Don’t Touch Me With a 6-Foot Pole
The universe has an intriguing way of registering our wishes and delivering them in convoluted, mutated forms. Last winter, I recall coming home after a long day at the hospital and being ambushed by my 3-year-old daughter and preteen son. She wanted to play, he needed help with homework, and they ...
Half of Surveyed Cancer Researchers Report Their Work Is on Hold Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
A survey of American Cancer Society grantees found that about half reported their cancer research has been halted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Cancer Society reached out to all of its funded researchers to assess the state of their projects and collect information to guide...
Ongoing Efforts Toward Vaccine Development for COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading throughout the world, and vaccine developers have responded with unprecedented speed. Since the COVID-19 genome sequence was released in January, human trials of an experimental vaccine candidate have already begun in the Seattle area. Although the...
I Have Multiple Myeloma and Am Concerned About the Coronavirus
In hindsight, the symptoms I began experiencing in the fall of 2013—sudden excruciating back bone pain and severe fatigue—should have tipped me off that I had a serious disease, but 7 years ago, they were easy to explain away. The bone pain was similar to what I had experienced several years...
Global COVID-19 Observatory and Resource Center for Childhood Cancer
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in partnership with the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), has launched the Global COVID-19 Observatory and Resource Center for Childhood Cancer. The website offers health-care providers around the world a space to share the latest...
Prioritizing Patients With Metastatic Disease for Palliative Radiotherapy
In anticipation of how the COVID-19 pandemic might impact oncology care as the coronavirus spread across New York City, radiation oncologists with expertise in the management of metastatic disease and inpatient oncologic emergencies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) met in late winter ...
Reduction in Cancer Diagnoses in the Netherlands During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In a commentary published in The Lancet Oncology, Dinmohamed et al detailed a nationwide reduction in cancer diagnoses in the Netherlands in the several weeks following the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the country compared with the several weeks preceding the first documented case. This...
Laura C. Michaelis, MD: In My Experience Question 5
For community oncologists treating patients with chronic myeloid leukemia or chronic lymphocytic leukemia during the COVID-19 pandemic, what resources and clinical pearls would you suggest? Recorded April 24, 2020.
Laura C. Michaelis, MD: In My Experience Question 4
At this time, would you consider pausing therapy—specifically signaling inhibitors and/or monoclonal antibodies—in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia? Recorded April 24, 2020.
Laura C. Michaelis, MD: In My Experience Question 2
Are you treating patients with advanced chronic myeloid leukemia (accelerated phase or blast crisis) any differently during the COVID-19 pandemic? Recorded April 24, 2020.
Laura C. Michaelis, MD: In My Experience Question 1
How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your approach to the selection of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia? Recorded April 24, 2020.
Mehdi Hamadani, MD: In My Experience Question 6
Are you proceeding with front-line autologous transplant in patients with mantle cell lymphoma or delaying it during the COVID-19 pandemic? Recorded April 21, 2020.
Mehdi Hamadani, MD: In My Experience Question 5
For community oncologists treating patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma during the COVID-19 pandemic, what resources and clinical pearls would you suggest? Recorded April 21, 2020.
Mehdi Hamadani, MD: In My Experience Question 4
How have the activities of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic? Recorded April 21, 2020.
Mehdi Hamadani, MD: In My Experience Question 3
During the COVID-19 pandemic, would you still recommend immediate upfront autologous transplant in patients with T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma? Recorded April 21, 2020.
Mehdi Hamadani, MD: In My Experience Question 2
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when and why would you consider delaying autologous transplant for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in second complete remission? Recorded April 21, 2020.
Mehdi Hamadani, MD: In My Experience Question 1
Are you testing for COVID-19 before administering therapy on an outpatient basis for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma? Recorded April 21, 2020.
William Dale, MD, PhD, on Best Practices for Special Populations During the COVID-19 Pandemic
William Dale, MD, PhD, of City of Hope National Medical Center, discusses vulnerable populations—older adults and those with psychosocial or mental health concerns—and reviews best practices for treatment decisions, social distancing, and maintaining emotional health. Recorded April 15, 2020.
Mortality Rate of Patients With Cancer and COVID-19 in a New York Hospital
Patients with cancer who were infected with COVID-19 were much more likely to die from the disease than those without cancer, according to research from physician-researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Their findings were published by Mehta et al in Cancer...
Treating Colorectal Cancer in the Time of COVID-19
The treatment of colorectal cancer has always been something of an art—but never more so than during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ASCO Post asked three experts in this malignancy to share their concerns and their approaches to achieving good patient outcomes while minimizing the risk of COVID-19...
Saad Z. Usmani, MD: In My Experience Question 5
For community oncologists treating patients with multiple myeloma during the COVID-19 pandemic, what resources and clinical pearls would you suggest? Recorded April 24, 2020.
FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization for Remdesivir for Treatment of Severe COVID-19
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the investigational antiviral drug remdesivir for the treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adults and children hospitalized with severe disease. Severe disease is defined as low...
ASCO Survey on Early Impact of COVID-19 on the Performance of Oncology Clinical Trials
An article by Waterhouse et al in JCO Oncology Practice presented results of a recent ASCO survey of clinical programs exploring the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of oncology clinical trials. Results highlighted the numerous issues faced by the programs, steps that are...
Saad Z. Usmani, MD: In My Experience Question 4
For patients with multiple myeloma who are currently on clinical trials, what are the most pressing issues as we fight COVID-19? Recorded April 24, 2020.
Saad Z. Usmani, MD: In My Experience Question 3
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has your management strategy changed for post-transplant consolidation and maintenance therapy in patients with multiple myeloma? Recorded April 24, 2020.
