ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in cancer care, and preliminary research suggests that these disruptions are associated with increased levels of psychosocial distress among cancer survivors. Indonesia initially reported positive cases in early March 2020, followed by regular extensive occurrences across 34 provinces. The disease causes acute respiratory failure among people with specific comorbidities, including geriatric disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and cancer. Consequently, the patients' conditions become more severe, possibly leading to a higher mortality rate. Individuals with cancer are at particularly elevated risk of a severe course of COVID-19 because they tend to be of older age and are at a greater risk for needing intensive care and for mortality. A reasonably good comprehension of the current COVID-19 outbreak, poor awareness of the primary disease and subsequent therapy program, and minimal understanding of the importance of continuing treatment during the pandemic are the probable factors causing the fear of contracting the COVID-19 virus that poses a significant threat of aggravating the existing breast cancer conditions in most patients. This anxiety shows a drastic impact in altering the behavioral patterns of survivors undergoing therapy. There is a very good understanding of how it is caused by the SARS-COV2 virus. Meanwhile, there is a severe lack of understanding of cancer and the therapeutic program. The patients are more afraid of contracting this virus than they are of their cancer. Patients prefer development of their cancer to contracting the SARS-COV2 virus. Therefore, massive education and supervision are needed for cancer patients to understand the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that routine checks are appropriately managed.
ABSTRACT
Background: In terms of the clinical outcome and bad prognosis of cancer, the elevation in IL-6 levels is correlated with disease progression. It is believed that the post-vaccination effect increases the levels of IL-6 antagonists, which can slow the growth of cancer cells. Method(s): This research was conducted out on all cancer patients at Dr. Moewardi General Hospital using an observational analytical research design with a cross-sectional study, with a total sample of 120 patients who were divided into groups that had and had not received vaccination. IL-6 levels were measured using blood samples. To identify the correlation between IL-6 levels and COVID-19 vaccination status, we did descriptive analysis and the Chi-square test to examine the data results. Result(s): There were 120 respondents in total, which all were processed for the analysis. out of 99 respondents who had full vaccination records. Then, 21 respondents who did not complete their vaccination status or receive the vaccine. Breast cancer is the most common cancer type in this population, which consists of 80 women and 40 males. Then, 59 respondents had increased Il-6 levels, whereas 61 respondents had normal levels. Findings of the research showed no statistically significant relationship between IL-6 levels and vaccination status (p>0.05). Conclusion(s): IL-6 levels were used to analyze the relationship between vaccination status and cancer progression, and it was shown that participants who had received immunizations had no more impact on IL-6 levels than those who had not. Legal entity responsible for the study: Rico Alfredo Hutabarat. Funding(s): Has not received any funding. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. Copyright © 2022
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: ESMO COVID-19 and CAncer REgistry (ESMO-CoCARE) is an international collaborative registry-based, cohort study gathering real-world data from Europe, Asia/Oceania and Africa on the natural history, management and outcomes of patients with cancer infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). PATIENTS AND METHODS: ESMO-CoCARE captures information on patients with solid/haematological malignancies, diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Data collected since June 2020 include demographics, comorbidities, laboratory measurements, cancer characteristics, COVID-19 clinical features, management and outcome. Parameters influencing COVID-19 severity/recovery were investigated as well as factors associated with overall survival (OS) upon SARS-CoV-2 infection. RESULTS: This analysis includes 1626 patients from 20 countries (87% from 24 European, 7% from 5 North African, 6% from 8 Asian/Oceanian centres), with COVID-19 diagnosis from January 2020 to May 2021. Median age was 64 years, with 52% of female, 57% of cancer stage III/IV and 65% receiving active cancer treatment. Nearly 64% patients required hospitalization due to COVID-19 diagnosis, with 11% receiving intensive care. In multivariable analysis, male sex, older age, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≥2, body mass index (BMI) <25 kg/m2, presence of comorbidities, symptomatic disease, as well as haematological malignancies, active/progressive cancer, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≥6 and OnCovid Inflammatory Score ≤40 were associated with COVID-19 severity (i.e. severe/moderate disease requiring hospitalization). About 98% of patients with mild COVID-19 recovered, as opposed to 71% with severe/moderate disease. Advanced cancer stage was an additional adverse prognostic factor for recovery. At data cut-off, and with median follow-up of 3 months, the COVID-19-related death rate was 24.5% (297/1212), with 380 deaths recorded in total. Almost all factors associated with COVID-19 severity, except for BMI and NLR, were also predictive of inferior OS, along with smoking and non-Asian ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Selected patient and cancer characteristics related to sex, ethnicity, poor fitness, comorbidities, inflammation and active malignancy predict for severe/moderate disease and adverse outcomes from COVID-19 in patients with cancer.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Hematologic Neoplasms , Neoplasms , COVID-19 Testing , Cohort Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasms/epidemiology , Neoplasms/therapy , Registries , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In Indonesia, especially in Surakarta, the emergence of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID)-19 pandemic made breast cancer survivors unable to continue their therapy schedule or follow-up due to lockdown rules in their residence area. Some survivors had confirmed COVID-19, or the health services began to limit their treatment of patients. Breast cancer itself is not an emergency case. AIM: This research is to see the behavior patterns of breast cancer survivors in Surakarta using the UNS-CASKQ14 questionnaire, whether there is anxiety about contracting COVID-19 or cancer itself that eliminates the fear of COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study used the Indonesian version of the UNS-CASKQ14 questionnaire on 88 breast cancer survivors through the Google Form application from December 2020-February 2021. RESULTS: The level of understanding about COVID-19 correlated with the level of education (p 0.019;r 0.429). The level of understanding also correlated with the type of financing (p 0.016;r 0.318). There was a correlation between the level of education and the level of knowledge about the therapeutic program that had to be undertaken (p 0.007;r 0.472). The financing factor used by the respondents to undergo a therapy program also affects them (p 0.028;r 0.248). The behavior of survivors during the pandemic had a statistically significant correlation to the level of education (p 0.032;r 0.313). There was a correlation with the type of financing (p 0.027;r 0.323). CONCLUSION: The high understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic made 97.9% of survivors afraid of contracting COVID-19, thus affected changes in behavior patterns and gave psychological effects in undergoing therapy during the pandemic.