The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Lung Cancer Community

Licun Wu; Chengke Zhang; Xiaogang Zhao

doi:10.14740/wjon1367

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Lung Cancer Community

World J Oncol. 2021 Feb;12(1):1-6. doi: 10.14740/wjon1367. Epub 2021 Feb 24.

Authors

Licun Wu¹, Chengke Zhang², Xiaogang Zhao^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Latner Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratories and Division of Thoracic Surgery, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Cancer Research Tower, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada.
² Key Laboratory of Thoracic Cancer, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan 250033, Shandong Province, China.
³ Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan 250033, Shandong Province, China.

Abstract

Since the outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) induced by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pandemic has become a global catastrophe. Patients with cancer especially lung cancer are more vulnerable and susceptible to get infected by the virus SARS-CoV-2. The overwhelming impact of COVID-19 on lung cancer community may result in rise of the incidence and mortality of lung cancer. It would become more obvious in future retrospective studies. Lung cancer patients are believed at higher risk of COVID-19 due to immunosuppression and should be protected by vaccination with priority. Better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 could help develop more effective vaccines to eradicate this disease in the near future.

Keywords: COVID-19; Immunosuppression; Lung cancer; SARS-CoV-2.

Publication types

Review