“In this study, we aimed to analyze our experience with patients suffering from Sars-CoV-2 infection while receiving treatment for metastatic melanoma.”
BUFFALO, NY- January 11, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 13 on December 29, 2022, entitled, “ Impact of Covid-19 on the management of patients with metastatic melanoma .”
The Covid-19 pandemic created new uncertainties in the management of metastatic melanoma patients. In particular, the impact of immunotherapy, targeted therapy or chemotherapy on the risk of Sars-CoV-2 infection and severity was debated.
In this study, researchers Michèle Welti, Phil F. Cheng, Joanna Mangana, Mitchell P. Levesque, Reinhard Dummer, and Laurence Imhof from University Hospital Zurich , University of Zurich and ETH Zurich analyzed all patients with metastatic melanoma receiving therapy at the University Hospital Zürich who developed Covid-19 between February 2020 and February 2022.
“We retrospectively collected demographic data, cancer-specific parameters, melanoma treatment regimen, comorbidities and Covid-19-specific parameters in these patients.”
Of the 350 patients with metastatic melanoma, 25 had Covid-19. The median age at the time of Covid-19 diagnosis was 66 years (range 36–86), 10 patients were female and 15 patients were male. The treatment regimen during infection was immunotherapy in 12 cases, followed by targeted therapy (n = 8), chemotherapy (n = 2) and TVEC injections, follow-up and palliative therapy in 1 case each.
The severity was mild in 17 patients and 8 had a moderate to critical course. Patients with a severe Covid-19 course were often older and had more comorbidities than patients with a mild infection. Many of the patients had a mild Covid-19 course despite having metastatic melanoma and systemic therapy.
“We therefore recommend continuing systemic therapy whenever possible, even in such exceptional situations as the Covid-19 pandemic.”
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28333
Correspondence to: Michèle Welti
Email: michele.welti@uzh.ch
Keywords: metastatic melanoma, Covid-19, Sars-CoV-2, immunotherapy, targeted therapy
About Oncotarget : Oncotarget (a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open access journal) aims to maximize research impact through insightful peer-review; eliminate borders between specialties by linking different fields of oncology, cancer research and biomedical sciences; and foster application of basic and clinical science.
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Impact of Covid-19 on the management of patients with metastatic melanoma
29-Dec-2022