COVID-19 Pandemic

Browsing: COVID-19 Pandemic

The latest news effecting cancer patients and oncology service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic

Researchers explore potential link between COVID-19 and lung cancer risk

By ONA Editor on May 2, 2026 COVID-19 Pandemic, Latest News, Lung Cancer

New findings have identified a potential association between COVID-19 and increased lung cancer risk, driven by underlying biological mechanisms in the lung. The study, published in Frontiers in Immunology, integrates human clinical data with mechanistic research in animal and cellular models to better understand how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may contribute to long-term lung disease. “Our findings suggest that COVID-19 may do more than cause acute illness—it may also create biological conditions in the lung that could contribute to increased cancer risk over time,” said Wei Li, Ph.D., professor of biomedical sciences at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and co-corresponding author on the study. “Understanding these…

Severe COVID-19 and flu facilitate lung cancer months or years later

By ONA Editor on March 21, 2026 COVID-19 Pandemic, Latest News, Lung Cancer

Severe COVID-19 and influenza infections prime the lungs for cancer and can accelerate the disease’s development, but vaccination heads off those harmful effects, new research from UVA Health’s Beirne B. Carter Centre for Immunology Research and UVA Comprehensive Cancer Centre indicates. UVA School of Medicine researcher Jie Sun, PhD, and colleagues found that serious viral infections “reprogrammed” immune cells in the lungs to facilitate the growth of cancer tumours months or even years later. Based on their findings, the scientists are urging doctors to closely monitor patients who have recovered from severe COVID, flu, or pneumonia in hopes of catching lung cancer…

ESMO 2025: Study finds COVID-19 mRNA vaccine sparks immune response to cancer

By ONA Editor on October 23, 2025 COVID-19 Pandemic, ESMO, Events, Latest News, Lung Cancer, Melanoma and Skin Cancer

Patients with advanced lung or skin cancer who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy drugs lived significantly longer than those who did not get the vaccine, researchers have found. The observation by researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, USA, is a defining moment in a decade-plus of research testing mRNA-based therapeutics designed to “wake up” the immune system against cancer. Building on a previous UF study, the observation also marks a significant step toward a long-awaited universal cancer vaccine to boost the tumour-fighting effects of immunotherapy.…

Adults who have survived childhood cancer are at increased risk of severe COVID-19

By ONA Editor on July 7, 2025 COVID-19 Pandemic, Latest News, Paediatric Oncology & AYA, Survivorship and QoL

People who have survived cancer as children are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19, even decades after their diagnosis. This is shown by a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health – Europe. Thanks to medical advances, more and more children are surviving cancer. However, even long after treatment has ended, health risks may remain. In a new registry study, researchers investigated how adult childhood cancer survivors in Sweden and Denmark were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study included over 13,000 people who had been diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20…

Blood cancer patients taking Bruton Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors should continue treatment at the time of COVID-19 vaccination

By ONA Editor on April 5, 2025 COVID-19 Pandemic, Latest News, Treatment and Support

Blood cancer patients who receive a type of anti-cancer therapy should continue to take the drug while having COVID-19 vaccinations, a new study suggests. The findings of a clinical trial led by the University of Birmingham and the Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit based at the University of Oxford, UK, published in Lancet Haematology suggest that patients with a type of blood cancer called Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) who are being treated with Bruton Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors (BTKi), should continue their therapy while receiving COVID-19 vaccination. The IMPROVE study investigated whether a three-week pause in BTKi therapy around the time of…

Decline in breast cancer screening participation rates during the COVID-19 pandemic

By ONA Editor on February 20, 2025 Breast Cancer, COVID-19 Pandemic, Latest News, Screening & Prevention

During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, breast cancer screening participation rates declined worldwide. However, in Japan, nationwide changes in the rate of breast cancer screening before and during the pandemic remain unclear. Found in JMA Journal. Researchers from the University of Tsukuba conducted a secondary analysis of data from the 2019 and 2022 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions (household and health surveys) to examine changes in breast cancer screening participation rates before and during the pandemic. They also identified subgroups with large decreases in participation rates. Results showed that the screening participation rate was 48.3% before the pandemic (18.7% in municipality-based, 17.0%…

New cancer diagnoses did not rebound as expected following pandemic

By ONA Editor on September 27, 2024 COVID-19 Pandemic

Cancer incidence trends in 2021 largely returned to what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA. However, there was little evidence of a rebound in incidence that would account for the decline in diagnoses in 2020, when screening and other medical care was disrupted. One exception was breast cancer, where the researchers did see an uptick in diagnoses of advanced-stage disease in 2021. The study appears Sept.24, 2024, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. A previous study showed that new cancer diagnoses fell abruptly in…

A study recommends strengthening immunity against COVID-19 in people with cancer

By ONA Editor on June 25, 2024 COVID-19 Pandemic, Digital Resources & Fundraising, Latest News

Researchers from the Institut d’Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol (IDIAPJGol) and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Spain, have led astudy on the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 among cancer patients in Catalonia. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, recommends administering additional doses of the vaccine among this risk population. Cancer patients are at increased risk of death from COVID-19, especially those who have lung cancer, haematological malignancies or are undergoing systemic treatment, such as chemotherapy. The participation of patients with active cancer in clinical trials that have been carried out to test the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 has been very limited, so it has not…

Portable pathology passes the test

By ONA Editor on June 1, 2024 COVID-19 Pandemic, Latest News, Pathology & Diagnostics

On-site pathology tests for infectious diseases in rural and remote locations can be just as reliable and accurate as tests carried out in a hospital laboratory, a new report from Flinders University shows. Flinders University researchers tested the quality of on-site pathology testing, or Point-of-Care-Testing (POCT), for molecular-based, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection in over 100 remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia. “Our study demonstrates that when point-of-care testing models are effectively established and managed, the quality of pathology results can be equivalent to laboratory tests, and the benefits for patients are overwhelmingly evident,”…

Study highlights evolution of clinical trial terminology in the digital era

By ONA Editor on April 9, 2024 Commentary, COVID-19 Pandemic, Latest News, Research

By Professor Craig Underhill. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only reshaped our daily lives but has also revolutionised the landscape of clinical trials, improving equity of access for patients with cancer. This was the focus of our study recently published in JAMA Oncology. The study highlights the significant uptake of digital technologies in clinical trial conduct, particularly emphasising the emergence of telehealth consultations and decentralised clinical trials (DCT). As face-to-face interactions became limited due to pandemic restrictions, the healthcare sector rapidly embraced digital solutions to ensure continuity in patient care and trial operations. This surge in digital adoption, driven by…

1 2 3 … 20 Next