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Cancers
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Two Years into the COVID-19 Pandemic: What It Means for...
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Two Years into the COVID-19 Pandemic: What It Means for Our Cancer Patients

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 6581

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Markus Joerger

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medical Oncology, St.Gallen Cancer Center, Rorschacherstr. 95, 9007 St. Gallen, Switzerland
Interests: anticancer drug development; thoracic oncology; clinical pharmacology
Dr. Karlijn de Joode

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Interests: cancer research; immunotherapy; melanoma; renal cell cancer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are more than 2 years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and rapid development of effective vaccines has helped to stabilize infections in the broader population. Early into the pandemic, it became clear that cancer patients are particularly vulnerable not only to SARS-CoV2 infections, but also to collateral negative impacts from the pandemic on the fields of e.g. cancer screening, potentially curative surgery, adjuvant or palliative systemic treatments in particular chemotherapy, which will all negatively impact cancer outcome in the long term. Substantial clinical data have been collected and published in the meantime, but there is still important advances to be made in our understanding of the impact of SARS-CoV2 infections on the outcome and management of cancer patients.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue of Cancers, in which the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is reviewed from different angles, to shed more light on the particular needs of cancer patients with regards to SARS-CoV2 infections, and guide clinicians with regards to individual cancer management. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: COVID-19 outcome in cancer patients in the pre-vaccination versus the post-vaccination period, different impact of COVID-19 variants in cancer patients, interaction between specific anticancer treatment and SARS-CoV2 infection and the optimal management of cancer disease in the post-vaccination period of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Markus Joerger
Dr. Karlijn de Joode
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • SARS-CoV2
  • pandemic
  • cancer
  • cancer treatment
  • vaccines outcomes

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1888 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Antibody Responses in Patients with B-Cell Malignancies after Two and Three Doses of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S Vaccination—A Retrospective Cohort Study
by Stella Rosa Maria Wirth, Klaus Podar, Martin Pecherstorfer, Philipp Wohlfarth, Ulrich Jaeger and Josef Singer
Cancers 2023, 15(2), 524; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15020524 - 14 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1769
Abstract
Patients with B-cell malignancies are at a higher risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 infections. Nevertheless, extensive data on the immune responses of hematological patients and the efficacy of the third dose of the vaccine are scarce. The goal of this study was to determine [...] Read more.
Patients with B-cell malignancies are at a higher risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 infections. Nevertheless, extensive data on the immune responses of hematological patients and the efficacy of the third dose of the vaccine are scarce. The goal of this study was to determine standardized anti-SARS-CoV-2 S antibody levels and to evaluate differences between treatment modalities in response to the second and third vaccines among patients with B-cell malignancies treated at the University Hospital Krems and the University Hospital of Vienna. The antibody levels of a total of 80 patients were retrospectively analyzed. The results indicate a significant increase in antibody production in response to the third vaccination. The highest increases could be observed in patients in a “watchful-waiting” and “off-therapy” setting. Encouragingly, approximately one-third of patients who did not develop antibodies in response to two vaccinations achieved seroconversion after the third vaccination. “Watchful-waiting”, “off-therapy” and treatment with BTK inhibitors were indicative for increased antibody response after the third dose compared to anti-CD19 CAR T-cell and anti-CD-20 antibody treatment. In summary, the results of this study underline the pre-eminent role of the need for complete vaccination with three doses for the development of protective immunity in patients with B-cell malignancies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Two Years into the COVID-19 Pandemic: What It Means for Our Cancer Patients)
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12 pages, 435 KiB  
Article
Outcome and Prognostic Factors of COVID-19 Infection in Swiss Cancer Patients: Final Results of SAKK 80/20 (CaSA)
by Markus Joerger, Yannis Metaxas, Khalil Zaman, Olivier Michielin, Nicolas Mach, Adrienne Bettini, Andreas M. Schmitt, Nathan Cantoni, Clemens B. Caspar, Sonja Stettler, Roma Malval, Miklos Pless, Christian Britschgi, Christoph Renner, Dieter Koeberle, Jessica D. Schulz, Christoph Kopp, Stefanie Hayoz, Anastasios Stathis and Roger von Moos
Cancers 2022, 14(9), 2191; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14092191 - 27 Apr 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1470
Abstract
Purpose: These are the final results of a national registry on cancer patients with COVID-19 in Switzerland. Methods: We collected data on symptomatic COVID-19-infected cancer patients from 23 Swiss sites over a one-year period starting on 1 March 2020. The main objective was [...] Read more.
Purpose: These are the final results of a national registry on cancer patients with COVID-19 in Switzerland. Methods: We collected data on symptomatic COVID-19-infected cancer patients from 23 Swiss sites over a one-year period starting on 1 March 2020. The main objective was to assess the outcome (i.e., mortality, rate of hospitalization, ICU admission) of COVID-19 infection in cancer patients; the main secondary objective was to define prognostic factors. Results: From 455 patients included, 205 patients (45%) had non-curative disease, 241 patients (53%) were hospitalized for COVID-19, 213 (47%) required oxygen, 43 (9%) invasive ventilation and 62 (14%) were admitted to the ICU. Death from COVID-19 infection occurred in 98 patients, resulting in a mortality rate of 21.5%. Age ≥65 years versus <65 years (OR 3.14, p = 0.003), non-curative versus curative disease (OR 2.42, p = 0.012), ICU admission (OR 4.45, p < 0.001) and oxygen requirement (OR 20.28, p < 0.001) were independently associated with increased mortality. Conclusions: We confirmed high COVID-19 severity and mortality in real-world cancer patients during the first and second wave of the pandemic in a country with a decentralized, high-quality, universal-access health care system. COVID-19-associated mortality was particularly high for those of older age in a non-curative disease setting, requiring oxygen or ICU care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Two Years into the COVID-19 Pandemic: What It Means for Our Cancer Patients)
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Review

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17 pages, 523 KiB  
Review
COVID-19 vs. Cancer Immunosurveillance: A Game of Thrones within an Inflamed Microenviroment
by Ioannis Liapis and Stavroula Baritaki
Cancers 2022, 14(17), 4330; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14174330 - 05 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2566
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic accounts for more than 500 million confirmed infections and over 6 million deaths worldwide in the last 2 years. SARS-CoV-2 causes a highly complex form of inflammation that affects the human organism both acutely and chronically. In the same line, [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic accounts for more than 500 million confirmed infections and over 6 million deaths worldwide in the last 2 years. SARS-CoV-2 causes a highly complex form of inflammation that affects the human organism both acutely and chronically. In the same line, cancer as an inflammation-induced and immune-editing disease appears to cross-react with immune system at different levels including early interactions during carcinogenesis and later cross-talks within the tumor microenvironment. With all that in mind, a reasonable question one might address is whether the SARS-CoV-2 infection and the derived “long lasting inflammatory status” that is frequently observed in patients, might affect the cancer immunosurveillance mechanisms and consequently their risk of developing cancer, as well as the tumor and immune cell behaviors within the inflamed microenvironment. On this context, this review intends to outline and discuss the existing knowledge on SARS-CoV-2-mediated immunomodulation under the prism of changes that might be able to interfere with cancer cell immunoescape and the overall tumor progression and response to conventional therapeutics. Our goal is to highlight a potential interplay between the COVID-19 immunopathology and cancer immune-microenvironment that may pave the way for thorough investigation in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Two Years into the COVID-19 Pandemic: What It Means for Our Cancer Patients)
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