COVID News: Childhood cancer survivors at no increased risk of severe disease

 

With the omicron surge receding and spring around the corner, the pandemic situation is improving — but we’re not yet out of the woods. For those with compromised immune systems, the “return to normalcy” can be intimidating and stressful.

Read more: Cancer, COVID-19, and proceeding with caution, Fred Hutch News Service, 2.19.22

A recent study out of Canada should provide some peace of mind to childhood cancer survivors. Researchers found no increased risk of hospitalization or severe outcomes among survivors of childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancers compared to the general population. The authors pose that age may be a key factor: “It may be that the protection afforded by the relatively young age of our survivor cohort (median age of 24 years, with a maximum age of 51 years) outweighs any risk associated with cancer survivorship; some studies among survivors of older adult cancer have found an elevated risk of severe disease.”

While reassuring, the authors caution that this study did not examine chronic outcomes (commonly known as “long COVID”), which affects between 10-20 percent of people diagnosed with the virus, according to the World Health Organization. We still have a lot to learn about long COVID, but we know it can be debilitating with significant physical, mental, and financial impacts. As an advocacy organization, we continue to monitor this situation with our coalition partners and evaluate possible policy solutions related to employment rights, sick pay, and disability benefits.

It must also be emphasized that this was a study of survivors - not those in active treatment. A large international study released last year found that 20 percent of children with cancer who were infected with COVID developed a severe infection, compared to just 1-6 percent of children in the general population. That study was conducted prior to most children being eligible for vaccines and before the emergence of the milder omicron strain.

Children under age 5 continue to be ineligible for vaccination. Read more: COVID-19 vaccine delayed for three-year-old battling cancer, WWMT, 2.13.22)

As we cautiously step forward toward the hope of a post-pandemic world, the fallout from two years of healthcare chaos and medical disruptions is becoming clear and troubling:

  • ‘The health system isn’t ready for an advanced cancer surge’ - “Our next surge will be advanced chronic disease,” says Dr. Steve Serrao, warning that the pandemic’s disruption to cancer screenings threaten to overwhelm the healthcare system. In many parts of the country, screening appointments remain hard to get, as “working to clear the backlog begets a new backlog.” On the other side of the coin, providers are concerned that some Americans have permanently altered their healthcare habits by getting out of the routine of regular visits during the pandemic. (Vox, 2.14.22)

  • ‘COVID and the Cancer Moonshot’ - The pandemic’s disruption to clinical trials - placing some on hold or dealing staffing blows - is a significant concern. “We have a crisis in cancer research staffing stemming, in part, from the great resignation of the pandemic or employee illness, and have to choose between delaying the opening of new clinical trials; closing trials altogether; or continuing to offer trials but without the same level of supervision, which could compromise the safety of patients,” warns Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS, in this opinion piece. (The Hill, 2.15.22)

  • ‘The pandemic may delay progress toward closing racial gaps in cancer outcomes’ - Pre-pandemic progress toward increasing cancer screenings among minority groups has taken a hit in the past two years. “We might set ourselves back [in closing the racial disparity gap], let’s say, five, six, seven, eight years, based on what the pandemic has presented,” says Dr. John Carethers of the University of Michigan Health System. (Iowa Public Radio/Side Effects Public Media, 3.7.22)

Throughout the pandemic, we’ve done our best to keep you informed of the latest public health recommendations and breaking news. We continue to strongly recommend that both children in treatment and cancer survivors receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as they are eligible for it, as vaccination offers the best possible protection against severe impacts of the virus.