Seminars in oncology
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Seminars in oncology · Oct 2020
Multicenter StudyData of Italian Cancer Centers from two regions with high incidence of SARS CoV-2 infection provide evidence for the successful management of patients with locally advanced and metastatic melanoma treated with immunotherapy in the era of COVID-19.
Patients with cancer are presumed to have a higher risk to contract SARS-CoV-2 infection, because of their immunosuppressed status. The impact and course of COVID-19 infection in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy remains unknown. ⋯ The incidence of symptomatic COVID-19 infection observed in our cohort of patients with advanced malignant melanoma treated with immunotherapy appears meaningfully lower as compared with that reported in the overall population in Italy as well as in patients affected by solid tumors. We conclude that in patients with locally advanced and metastatic melanoma, immunotherapy can be safely continued without delay in the majority of cases, reserving precautionary delay only for the most frail patients.