In a new study, researchers found that, compared to other cancers, patients with blood cancers are more vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
this information will help clinicians to guide patients to ensure they can have therapy safely and successfully during this time.
They found that blood cancer patients were particularly at risk with 57% higher odds of severe disease if they contract COVID-19.
This was when compared to other cancer patients, such as breast cancer, which was shown to have the lowest risk overall.
The research was conducted by a team at the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham.
In line with what people already know about the coronavirus pandemic, age was shown to play a factor in the overall outcome, with cancer patients over the age of 80 found to have the highest frequency of fatality.
As COVID-19 spread globally in early 2020, cancer patients were identified as a sub-group who were potentially at an increased risk of infection of COVID-19 and of potentially suffering more serious disease consequences.
Since March more than 60 cancer centers across the UK have reported information on adult cancer patients who contracted COVID-19.
The current project was set up to help researchers and clinicians better understand what groups of cancer patients are most at risk of severe COVID-19.
Using demographic data such as age, gender, and tumor type, the researchers were able to determine that patients with hematological cancers, particularly older patients and those with leukemia, had a more severe COVID-19 trajectory compared to patients with solid organ tumors.
The study also gives an evidence base from which hospitals and other healthcare providers can design measures to ensure that they maintain access to life-saving treatments as safely as possible.
One author of the study is Professor Rachel Kerr.
The study is published in Lancet Oncology.
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