Dr. Abid on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients With Cancer

Muhammad Bilal Abid, MD, MRCP, assistant professor of medicine in the Divisions of Hematology/Oncology and Infectious Diseases at the Medical College of Wisconsin, discusses the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its clinical impact on patients with cancer.

Several observational studies around the globe have unanimously shown that patients ​with cancer who contract COVID-19 have much worse outcomes with COVID-19 compared with individuals who do not have cancer, says Abid. Depending on the tumor type, patients with cancer could have higher rates of ICU admissions, morbidity, and mortality. 

Moreover, recent studies discovered that patients with hematologic malignancies and those who are actively receiving immunosuppressive treatments have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19​–related complications, Abid concludes.