SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting respiratory tract infection COVID-19 has upended our society and forcefully changed the way we care for patients.
SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting respiratory tract infection COVID-19 has upended our society and forcefully changed the way we care for patients. Since the emergence of the virus in early 2020, there have been questions surrounding the risk posed to patients with a cancer diagnosis and the safety of anticancer therapies. The desired effect of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) drugs is to activate the innate immune system (t-cell subset) to recognize cancer cells as foreign and harness the immune system to eradicate disease. But can this heightened state of immune awareness result in a protective effect against pathogens like viruses and bacteria? Or is the potential inflammation generated from immune activation detrimental to those exposed to infectious pathogens1?
Three large, retrospective cohort studies regarding the clinical impact of COVID-19 on patients with cancer have been published2,3,4. The largest report up until September 30, 2020, comes from the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19), which reported 30-day all-cause mortality for 928 patients from the United States, Canada, and Spain with laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 and a diagnosis of invasive or hematologic malignancy between March 17, and April 16, 2020. Of those receiving anticancer therapy, only 16% (38 patients) had received immunotherapy, including ICB, allogeneic stem cell transplant, or adoptive cell therapy. The authors did not report the mortality risk for those patients receiving immunotherapy, however, type of malignancy, type and recency of anticancer therapy, and surgery were not associated with an increase in all-cause mortality2.
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At the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, the Louisiana Oncology Society received the ASCO Jeffrey C Ward Affiliate Advocacy Award for advancing critical advocacy priorities that have translated into meaningful legislative victories. The Iowa Oncology Society and Washington State Medical Oncology Society were also recognized for their advocacy efforts in 2025 at the meeting, receiving second place awards.
