June 1 Update on Coronavirus and Lung Cancer

This past week marked a grim milestone in the United States, as we officially surpassed 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. Our groups continue to recommend that the lung cancer community adhere to best practices to limit exposure, including wearing masks/face coverings when out in public, frequent handwashing, ongoing social distancing, and limiting non-essential travel.

Normally at this time, representatives from our respective organizations would be in Chicago for the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, for which over 40,000 oncology professionals gather to share best practices in clinical oncology research and academic and community practice. In light of the ongoing pandemic, ASCO 2020 was held as a virtual conference.

Note: There are many exciting updates and recent FDA drug approvals in the lung cancer space. These are being shared via other channels through our respective organizations and will not be covered here since our goal is to focus exclusively on relevant COVID-19 updates for the lung cancer community.

In this week’s update, we will cover three topics:

COVID-19 presentations from ASCO 2020
Advocacy groups participate in IASLC “Lung Cancer Considered” podcast
Advocacy groups collecting data for AACR COVID-19 and Cancer conference

COVID-19 presentations from ASCO 2020

Previous reports have suggested that lung cancer patients infected with COVID-19 have worse outcomes. During ASCO 2020, we heard updates from two different registry efforts focused on tracking cancer patient outcomes:

The COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) registry is tracking outcomes across all cancer types. The major finding from this study is that patients with actively progressing cancer were five times more likely to die within 30 days of diagnosis with COVID-19 compared to patients who were in remission or had no evidence of disease. As ASCO President Dr. Howard A. Burris III states, “For people with cancer, the impact of COVID-19 is especially severe, whether they have been exposed to the virus or not. Patients with cancer are typically older adults, often with other underlying conditions, and their immune systems may be suppressed by the cancer, or due to chemotherapy, radiation, or other treatment.” These data are consistent with previous early reports and suggest that patients with active cancer are uniquely vulnerable and face worse outcomes upon infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.
A second registry effort, Thoracic cancERs international coVid 19 cOLlaboraTion (TERAVOLT), is specifically tracking outcomes for lung cancer patients infected with COVID-19. For this study, 400 patients were included in the analysis, the majority of which had stage IV cancer. Among this cohort, 141 patients died from COVID-19, with 334 of the patients requiring hospitalization. Those patients receiving chemotherapy, either alone or in combination, within three months of a diagnosis of COVID-19 fared the worst, with a significantly increased risk of dying (64%) compared to those who did not receive chemotherapy.

Take home message from these studies: COVID-19 presents a unique threat to all cancer patients, especially those with lung cancer. Various international efforts are underway to understand these risks and what it means for patients and their cancer care. As states continue to reopen, it is important not to let your guard down and to maintain all the precautions you have been taking over the past few months. This virus has not gone away and it is important that you and your loved ones take appropriate steps to minimize exposure.

Advocacy groups participate in IASLC “Lung Cancer Considered” podcast

Authors of these weekly updates, including Dr. Jan Baranski, Janet Freeman-Daily, Dr. Amy Moore, and Dr. Upal Basu Roy recently participated in the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) “Lung Cancer Considered” podcast. They were joined by Jill Feldman, Dr. Alice Berger, Dr. Christine Lovly, and Dr. Brendon Stiles to discuss impacts of COVID-19 on lung cancer research. Despite the obstacles created by the pandemic, lung cancer research marches on and we think you will be encouraged and inspired by the discussion. Listen here.

Advocacy groups collecting data for AACR COVID-19 and Cancer conference

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on cancer care, AACR is convening a special conference focused on the presentation of emerging data in basic, clinical, and epidemiologic research related to COVID-19 and cancer. Lung cancer patients are especially vulnerable to developing a serious case of COVID-19. In order to provide the community accurate, up-to-date, and curated scientific information on COVID-19 and cancer, lung cancer patient advocacy groups have come together to support our community through joint advocacy updates.

We need your help and your perspective! We are inviting you to participate in this 10-minute survey to capture your concerns about COVID-19, and whether you found this collaboration and the updates useful. The survey will close at midnight Pacific Daylight Time, Friday, June 5, 2020 to allow us to prepare abstracts for submission to the AACR “COVID-19 and Cancer” virtual meeting.

You can also copy and paste this link on your web browser to take the survey.

The data we collect from the survey will also be shared openly across all advocacy groups once the conference is completed. Thank you for your help and for providing us your perspective.

Resources and websites:

IASLC’s Guide to COVID-19 and Lung Cancer
The National Cancer Institute has a special website for COVID-19 and emergency preparedness. COVID-19: What People with Cancer Should Know-
We are following updates provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Resource Center
Interactive map of US COVID-19 cases by state
The One-Two Punch: Cancer And COVID-19 (an important perspective for cancer patients)
You can find information specific to your state or city or town on your health department’s website.