COVID-19 Pandemic: Advances in Diagnosis, Treatment, Organoid Applications and Impacts on Cancer Patient Management

Chenyang Ye; Lina Qi; Ji Wang; Shu Zheng

doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.606755

COVID-19 Pandemic: Advances in Diagnosis, Treatment, Organoid Applications and Impacts on Cancer Patient Management

Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Mar 29:8:606755. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.606755. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Chenyang Ye^{1

2}, Lina Qi^{1

2}, Ji Wang^{3

4

5}, Shu Zheng^{2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
² Cancer Institute (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education), School of Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
³ Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Surgical Oncology, College of Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
⁵ Biomedical Research Center and Key Laboratory of Biotherapy of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.
⁶ Reseach Center for Air Pollution and Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread globally and rapidly developed into a worldwide pandemic. The sudden outburst and rapid dissemination of SARS-CoV-2, with overwhelming public health and economic burdens, highlight an urgent need to develop effective strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of infected patients. In this review, we focus on the current advances in the diagnostics and treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Notably, we also summarize some antineoplastic drugs repurposed for COVID-19 treatment and address the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for oncologists to manage cancer patients in this COVID-19 era. In addition, we emphasize the importance of organoid technology as a valuable experimental virology platform to better understand the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and assist rapid screening of drugs against COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; cancer patient; diagnostics; organoid; treatment.

Publication types

Review