New COVID-19 vaccine induces T-cell responses in 'highly immunocompromised patients'

[...]having an option for these patients is just critical" - by Ryan Lawrence " Many patients with cancer, especially those receiving B-cell-depleting therapy, do not mount sufficient humoral, ie antibodymediated, immune responses after vaccination with available COVID-19 vaccines." - JULIANE WALZ, MD, AND CLAUDIA TANDLL1 - https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/PFT/1/4f1BN?_a=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%2BgIBToIDA1dlYooDHENJRDoyMDIyMDYwNzEyMjczMzc0NTo3NTEyNTQ%3D&_s=XY45ZeFnnvzbBb31%2FSmA0G9h%2F1M%3D ER, MSC 'We know there are patients with hematologic malignancies - for example, elders - who may not be able to mount a response to the existing vaccines. [...]having an option for these patients is just critical." * ANA MARÍA LÓPEZ, MD, MPH, MACP, FRCP PERSPECTIVE The success of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 has been remarkable, considering that prior to the pandemic, there had been no large-scale testing and distribution of vaccines of that nature. [...]because of the "beads-on-a-string" design of the vaccine as a series of T-cell epitopes from a variety of viral proteins, it has diminished capacity to elicit humoral and neutralizing antibody responses.

Will telehealth face hurdles in access, coverage in a post-pandemic world?

Telehealth's rise to a regular modality of care coincided with the COVID-19 public health emergency. "The assumption is that the public health emergency could end right in July, and then is the 151-day window that will get us through at least December, post-election, which would allow Congress to act on it again before the year is out." ATA and ATA Action commend Congress for extending telehealth flexibilities post public health emergency to temporarily avoid the 'telehealth cliff' but will continue to work with Congress on permanent solutions (press release).

Patients with lung cancer show 'incredible toughness' during pandemic

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer exhibited less depression and anxiety when receiving treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic than healthy individuals, according to a study published in Journal of National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The analysis included 76 patients with advanced NSCLC (mean age, 62.6 years, standard deviation, 11.08;59.2% men;80.3% white) who enrolled at diagnosis at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and 67 community controls (mean age, 58.6 years;standard deviation, 9.31;56.7% women;95.5% white) with similar sociodemographics and smoking histories. With regard to further research, Andersen pointed to a separate study published in Psychosomatic Medicine in which she and colleagues reported that although immunotherapy and targeted therapies have dramatically improved survival for patients with advanced NSCLC, their benefit may be constrained by depressive symptoms.

Pandemic proves telehealth 'works in saving lives' and 'that we have an inequitable system'

Sorting the telehealth 'toolbox' Adam P. Dicker, MD, PhD, FASTRO, FASCO, director of Jefferson Center for Digital Health and professor and chair of the radiation oncology department at Sidney Kimmel Medical College and Cancer Center, has ample professional experience to educate clinicians and laypeople alike on the usefulness of telehealth as part of digital health, and created a course for medical and graduate students at Jefferson. "What we've learned from the pandemic is that the real service to patients is in longitudinal care in chronic diseases such as cancer, where patients can have telemedicine visits with their providers and we can perform medication changes, acute care visits and other support virtually and take care of patients where they are. Dicker said ways to reduce disparities in telehealth use include getting communication devices into the hands of patients in need, educating community health care workers on assisting in that practice, and creating a system that serves areas "where there's a digital divide and health literacy." "While several hospital characteristics affected the availability of telehealth visits, significant geographic disparities persisted independent of these factors," Anees B. Chagpar, MD, MSc, MPH, MA, MBA, FRCs(c), FACS, professor in the department of surgery at Yale University School of Medicine, told Healio ;HemOnc Today last year.

In age of misinformation, cancer care community seeks new strategies to improve communication

Healio ;HemOnc Today spoke with oncologists and leading communication experts in science and medicine about the prevalence of cancer misinformation on social media, important research into the issue, and possible strategies to improve communication platforms and disseminate trustworthy information more effectively. A problem 'across multiple health topics' Skyler B. Johnson, MD, physicianscientist at Huntsman Cancer Institute and assistant professor of radiation oncology at The University of Utah, discovered the scale and scope of cancer misinformation when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. In July, Johnson and colleagues published results of a study in Journal of the National Cancer Institute that showed one-third of the most popular cancer treatment articles on social media included inaccurate information. The researchers found that: * online search volume for cannabis and cancer increased at 10 times the rate of standard therapies (more in states where recreational or medical cannabis was legal);* cannabis as a cancer cure represented the largest category of social media content (23%) on alternative cancer treatments;* of the 40 high-impact new stories on social media referencing cannabis and cancer, 32 (80%) were false news that proposed cannabis as a cancer cure and only one (2.5%) was an accurate news story that debunked that claim;and * the top false news story claiming cannabis as a cancer cure generated 4.26 million engagements on social media;meanwhile, the top news story debunking this false news only received 36,000 engagements.

Cancer survivors undergoing treatment more likely to believe COVID-19 misinformation

"COVID-19 misinformation is a significant public health concern, and more vulnerable groups may be at increased risk of believing such types of misinformation - something their health care providers should be aware of and possibly address in relation to patients' concerns about the pandemic and how it relates to their treatment," Jeanine P.D. Guidry, PhD, assistant professor at Robertson School of Media and Culture and director of the media and health lab at Virginia Commonwealth University, told Healio ;HemOnc Today. Because patients undergoing treatment are particularly vulnerable to misinformation, the cancer care community must address patients' concerns on how the pandemic relates to their course of treatment, the researchers wrote. [...]we have no information on how the volunteers were selected - through online patient communities, online advertisement or other means - which means we cannot calculate the response rate.

AACR report: Pandemic led to nearly 10 million missed cancer screenings in 7 months

[...]COVID-19 affected all things in everybody's lives, but for patients with cancer it was really a much harder time," Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, FAACR, professor of medicine, surgery and molecular and medical pharmacology at University of California, Los Angeles, director of the tumor immunology program at Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, past AACR president, and chair of the report's steering committee, told Healio ;HemOnc Today. Building off the pandemic shining a light on the necessities of science and research, the AACR report included a call and action with recommendations for federal lawmakers to further support efforts to expand and enhance health care. The AACR called for: * at least $10 billion for the NIH and its grantees to offset pandemicrelated research costs as emergency supplemental funding, as proposed in the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act of2021;* funding increases of at least $3.5 billion for NIH and $1.1 billion for the NCI in fiscal year 2022, for total funding of $46.4 billion for NIH and $7.6 billion for NCI;* policies that broaden health care coverage and reduce inequities in access to health care, such as expanding Medicaid;and * increased diversity in clinical trials and efforts to alleviate the financial burden on prospective trial participants by reimbursing patients for ancillary trial-related costs, such as transportation and lodging, as established in the DIVN1 -https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/PFT/1/CaCpM?_a=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&_s=ASRlzCrgmzWR0jTNPlDJ055q%2FU4%3D ERSE Act.

Most patients with AML, myelodysplastic syndrome seropositive after two doses of COVID vaccine

[...]we undertook this study' The analysis included 46 patients (median age at vaccination, 68 years;range, 37-85;58.7% men;95.7% white) with AML (n = 30) and myelodysplastic syndrome (n = 16) enrolled at Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute from Jan. 12 to Jan. 25,2021. Please see the ab""_ for a 11 other 'esearchers' relevant financial disclosures PERSPECTIVE This study is encouraging for clinicians and patients alike in that COVID-19 vaccination for patients with in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and AML produces a strong humoral immune response despite high rates of disease-related neutropenia and lymphopenia. [...]almost all patients converted to seropositive after two doses.

Data support third COVID-19 vaccine dose for some patients with cancer

Results within the infection cohort showed: * infection led to durable neutralizing responses in most patients with cancer, but patients with hematologic malignancies had reduced responses;* the majority of patients with cancer had detectable cellular response to infection, but significantly fewer patients with hematologic malignancies had detectable T-cell responses;* neutralizing responses to beta and delta variants were reduced compared with wild-type SARS-CoV-2;and * anticancer treatments generally did not impact immune response, with the exception of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Results in this cohort indicated patients with hematologic malignancies had reduced or absent neutralizing activity against variants of concern, whereas patients with solid cancers had activity comparable to noncancer controls, and that previous SARS-CoV-2 infection boosted vaccine-induced responses, thus supporting a third booster dose. Marie von Lilienfeld-Toal, MD Friedrich-Schiller Universitat Jena, Germany Disclosures: von Lilienfeld-Toal reports honoraria and/or research funding frorr AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cancer Drug Development zorum, Celgene, Chugai, Deutsche Krebshilfe, Deutsche Jose Carreras Leukamie Stiftung, Federal Ministry of Education and Research, 4DPharma, German Research zoundation, Gilead Sciences, IZKF Jena, Janssen, Medac, Merck Novartis, Oncopeptitides, Pfizer, Takeda and Thermo Fisher Scientific Reference: Shepherd STC, et al.

Black men far less likely than white men to undergo prostate cancer surgery amid pandemic

"The study was prompted by early reports showing that minority populations were disproportionately adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," Andres F. Correa, MD, assistant professor in the division of urology and urologic oncology in the department of surgical oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, told HemOnc Today. [...]we aimed to assess how a significant stressor, such as the lockdown, affected delivery of prostate cancer care within the region." "Prostate cancer treatment can be safely deferred up to a year and, thus, during that initial period of great uncertainty, we expected to see a decline in prostate cancer surgery for all patients.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychiatric Emergency Service Volume and Hospital Admissions.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been an increasing number of emergency department visits for behavioral health reasons, even as overall emergency department volumes have decreased. The impact of the pandemic and related public health interventions on specialized psychiatric emergency services has not been described. These services provide high-intensity care for severely ill patients who are likely to be homeless and underserved. OBJECTIVE: We describe the change in total volume and psychiatric hospitalization rates among three psychiatric emergency services across the United States. METHODS: Changes in volumes and hospitalization were assessed for statistical significance using a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average with exogenous factors model from January 2018 to December 2020. RESULTS: The pandemic's impact on volumes and hospitalization varied by site. In Denver (CO), there was a statistically significant 9% decrease in overall volumes, although an 18% increase in hospitalizations was not significant. In New York City (NY), there was a significant 7% decrease in volumes as well as a significant 6% decrease in hospitalizations. In Portland (OR), volumes decreased by 4% and hospitalizations increased by 6% although differences did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: There has been a decrease in volume at these services after the pandemic, but there are substantial variations in the magnitude of change and demand for hospitalization by region. These findings suggest a need to understand where patients in crisis are seeking care and how systems of care must adapt to changing utilization in the pandemic era.

Oncologists can allay COVID-19 vaccination concerns of patients with cancer, survivors

[...]we really want our patients to be protected wherever possible." [...]the country reaches herd immunity, many of the pre-vaccination COVID-19 precautions apply. In January, the board of directors of Community Oncology Alliance wrote a letter to the National Governors Association, Bidens COVID-19 Task Force and other government ofcials in an attempt to get priority approval for local independent oncology practices to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to immunocompromised patients with cancer and blood disorders. When speaking with their patients, providers also should loop in household members caring for patients regularly, Pergam said. Because caregivers are in direct contact with someone with cancer, they, too, should be immunized.