Higher risk of severe COVID-19 seen in people with blood cancers

Reuters Health - 01/09/2020 - Cancer patients with hematological malignancies are at greater risk of having a more severe COVID-19 trajectory compared with patients with solid-organ tumors, according to new findings. "If this virus re-emerges, certain cancer-patient cohorts may need additional support to reduce their risk of getting the virus," Dr. Lennard Y. W. Lee of the University of Birmingham, in the UK, told Reuters Health by email. "Blood-cancer patients," he added, "should be prioritized globally to ensure that they are given appropriate resources to take steps like shielding whilst continuing their treatments." Dr. Lee and colleagues note compared participants in a UK monitoring project of cancer patients with COVID-19 and a parallel UK cancer control population without the disease. The case fatality rate for each primary tumor subtype was compared with non-colorectal cancers of the digestive organs as a reference. Patients were followed from ...

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Posted on 1 September, 20208 September, 2020