enriquesuave wrote: Will see a slower and decrease in pace of trials probably for next 2-3 months, but mainly for trials in which drugs tested suppress immune system. Thank Gd we only have 2 treatments where 2nd treatment is 6 months later and we have no systemic effects.
"NCI Director Ned Sharpless said the institute is developing strategies for minimizing disruption to clinical trials as well as preparing contingency plans for safeguarding its workforce.
“We believe we will be able to do the things that we really need to do, like support clinical trials externally or provide grants to extramural awardees, or even keep intramural activities going, to the extent possible,” Sharpless said in a March 12 meeting of the NCI Clinical Trials Advisory Committee. “I want to assure you that we are prepared. And we have given thought to how to deal with the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on clinical trials."
“We’ve been discussing how clinical trials, in particular, could be affected by, say, decreased ability of patients to get to treatment or infusion centers in the community, for example.”
"The novel coronavirus will be deadly for many cancer patients. Patients with blood malignancies are at particularly high risk.
“Many of our therapies compromise the immune system, and particularly in the blood cancers—where it’s the immune system itself and parts of it that are cancerous,” said Joseph McGuirk, professor of medicine, Schutte-Speas Professor of Hematology-Oncology, director of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics, and medical director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at The University of Kansas Cancer Center.
“We suppress the immune system on purpose, and that sets our patients up for risk for infections—including [COVID19],” McGuirk said during a Facebook Live event on the subject March 11.
Older patients, bone marrow transplant recipients, and solid tumor patients who actively or have recently received chemotherapy should adhere to the same guidelines provided by CDC for the general public—avoid touching areas of the face, practice social distancing, washing hands thoroughly and often, avoiding coming into contact with high-touch public surfaces, said Dana Hawkinson, medical director for infection prevention and control, The University of Kansas Health System, and an assistant professor specializing in infectious diseases at University of Kansas Medical Center.
Canceling follow-up appointments isn’t on the table yet, Hawkinson said. “Individually, I would say, continue to be vigilant, talk with your provider, get good guidance. And by all means, if it’s safe and you’ve talked with your provider, please come in to your clinic visit—because missing a clinic visit could be even worse.”
The transcript of McGuirk’s conversation with Hawkinson and KU Cancer Center Director Roy Jensen appears here.