Recent findings from research led by University of Cincinnati researcher Trisha Wise-Drapher illuminate the effect of immunosuppression and immunotherapy for patients with cancer and COVID-19. This investigation began with a primary focus on understanding the effects of immunotherapy on COVID-19 severity, specifically if immunotherapy treatment is associated with worse clinical outcomes for cancer patients with COVID-19. The data of 12,046 patients was reviewed and evaluated with metrics including: whether patients were admitted to the hospital, if they required oxygen, or required ICU care. These analyses suggest that patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 that had baseline immunosuppression and followed immunotherapy treatment may have poorer clinical outcomes, whereas patients with immunotherapy alone had no change in outcome quality.
Investigating Cancer Immunotherapy Effects on COVID-19 Outcomes
