Chris Labaki, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, discusses research into the interplay of immunotherapy (IO) and immunosuppression in patients with cancer and COVID-19. Dr Labaki explains the rationale and background of this research, which involved more than 12000 cancer patients who had a COVID-19 infection. The patients were split into 3 groups: those who had received IO within the 3 months prior to COVID-19 infection, those who had received a non-IO systemic therapy within the 3 months prior to COVID-19 infection, and those who had not received any systemic therapy within the 3 months prior to COVID-19 infection. Baseline immunosuppression was taken from before COVID-19 infection. The primary endpoint was COVID-19 severity, with the incidence of cytokine storm being a secondary endpoint. Patients receiving IO who had baseline immunosuppression experienced worse outcomes and a higher incidence of cytokine storm than those who did not have immunosuppression. A similar trend was seen among patients receiving non-IO systemic therapy, with those who had immunosuppression experiencing worse outcomes and a higher incidence of cytokine storm, although the difference was more significant in the IO group. Dr Labaki emphasises the importance of continuing IO and other systemic therapies, as well as the importance of patients and their families strictly following COVID-19 prevention guidelines.
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