scholarly journals The intersection of COVID-19 and cancer: signaling pathways and treatment implications

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi Zong ◽  
Yujun Wei ◽  
Jiang Ren ◽  
Long Zhang ◽  
Fangfang Zhou

AbstractThe outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a serious public health concern. Patients with cancer have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic. Increasing evidence has documented that patients with malignancies are highly susceptible to severe infections and mortality from COVID-19. Recent studies have also elucidated the molecular relationship between the two diseases, which may not only help optimize cancer care during the pandemic but also expand the treatment for COVID-19. In this review, we highlight the clinical and molecular similarities between cancer and COVID-19 and summarize the four major signaling pathways at the intersection of COVID-19 and cancer, namely, cytokine, type I interferon (IFN-I), androgen receptor (AR), and immune checkpoint signaling. In addition, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of repurposing anticancer treatment for the treatment of COVID-19.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 977-982
Author(s):  
Mohamed J. Saadh ◽  
Bashar Haj Rashid M ◽  
Roa’a Matar ◽  
Sajeda Riyad Aldibs ◽  
Hala Sbaih ◽  
...  

SARS-COV2 virus causes Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and represents the causative agent of a potentially fatal disease that is of great global public health concern. The novel coronavirus (2019) was discovered in 2019 in Wuhan, the market of the wet animal, China with viral pneumonia cases and is life-threatening. Today, WHO announces COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. COVID-19 is likely to be zoonotic. It is transmitted from bats as intermediary animals to human. Also, the virus is transmitted from human to human who is in close contact with others. The computerized tomographic chest scan is usually abnormal even in those with no symptoms or mild disease. Treatment is nearly supportive; the role of antiviral agents is yet to be established. The SARS-COV2 virus spreads faster than its two ancestors, the SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), but has lower fatality. In this article, we aimed to summarize the transmission, symptoms, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine to control the spread of this fatal disease.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  

Today, Coronavirus (Cov) is one of the most dangerous diseases worldwide, and many people suffer from it. Coronavirus as a deadly virus was first recognized and spread in the City of Wuhan, Province of Hubei, China. This virion contains nucleocapsid, which is consists of phosphorylated nucleoprotein (N) and genomic RNA. The RNA of coronaviruses is enveloped, not fragmented, and is a positively sensitive single-stranded RNA that is known to be the largest viral genome in various sizes from 26 to 32 kV. Cov usually tends to provoke mild to severe respiratory disease. The symptoms of Cov may comprise headache, cough, fever, sore throat, runny nose, and a discomfort sensation. People with chronic diseases and health care staff are at greater risk of infection. Some compounds, such as mycophenolic acid and cyclosporine A, RNAi, and monoclonal antibodies have shown inhibitory effects against Cov. This article briefly discusses the nature, symptoms, transmission, treatment, prevention, and protection of this deadly virus.


Author(s):  
Davide Gori ◽  
Erik Boetto ◽  
Maria Pia Fantini

AbstractIntroductionRecent events highlight how emerging and re-emerging pathogens are becoming global challenges for public health. In December 2019, a novel coronavirus has emerged. This has suddenly turned out into global health concern.ObjectivesAim of this research is to focus on the bibliometric aspects in order to measure what is published in the first 30-days of a global epidemic outbreakMethodsWe searched PubMed database in order to find all relevant studies in the first 30-days from the first publication.ResultsFrom the initial 442 identified articles, 234 were read in-extenso. The majority of papers come from China, UK and USA. 63.7% of the papers were commentaries, editorials and reported data and only 17.5% of the sources used data directly collected on the field. Topics mainly addressed were “epidemiology”, “preparedness” and “generic discussion”. NNR showed a reduction for both the objectives assessed from January to February.Conclusions“Diagnosis” and effective preventive and therapeutic measures were the fields in which more research is still needed. The vast majority of scientific literature in the first 30-days of an epidemic outbreak is based on reported data rather than primary data. Nevertheless, the scientific statements and public health decisions rely on these data.Strengths of our studyThis is the first bibliometric research in Pubmed Database on the first 30 days of publications regarding the novel Coronavirus (SARS-nCoV-2) outbreak of 2019.The vast majority of publication in the first 30-days of an epidemic outbreak are reported data or comments, and only a small fraction of the papers have directly collected data.Limitations of our studyOur research is only PubMed based. It ill be auspicable to consult more than one relevant database in future papers.In addition, we excluded non-English publications leading to a potential bias due to the fact that the outbreak started in China.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuejun Alice Wang ◽  
Adam F. Binder ◽  
Usama Gergis ◽  
Lindsay Wilde

Initial studies that described the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) reported increased morbidity and mortality in patients with cancer. Of this group, patients with hematologic malignancies (HM) had the highest disease severity and death rates. Subsequent studies have attempted to better describe how COVID-19 affects patients with HM. However, these studies have yielded variable and often contradictory results. We present our single-institution experience with patients with HM who were diagnosed with COVID-19 from March 2020 to March 2021. We report 62 total cases with 10 patients who died during this time. The overall mortality was 16.1%. Mortality during the first two waves of COVID was 27.8% and 25%. Mortality during the third wave of COVID was 10%. The median age of patients was 67 years (range 20-89 years). 55% of patients had lymphoid malignancies and the majority had active disease at the time of diagnosis with COVID-19. 87% of patients had more than one co-morbidity. Important co-morbidities included cardiovascular disease and smoking history. 38.7% of patients had asymptomatic or mild disease, 54.8% required hospitalization, and 17.5% required ICU level care. In patients who required ICU level care, the mortality was 60%.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 36-42
Author(s):  
Joseph W Jatta ◽  
Jean Claude Romaric Pingdwindé Ouédraogo ◽  
Yusupha Sanyang ◽  
Daniel Nebongo ◽  
Tahir Ahmed Touray ◽  
...  

Background: The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak that began in Wuhan, China rapidly became a public health concern and a challenge for healthcare systems globally.  In the wake of the first confirmed case in The Gambia, concerns were raised in some quarters about the health system's preparedness to handle the outbreak. Therefore, we aimed to assess health personnel's knowledge and preparedness in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak in The Gambia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using self-administered questionnaires distributed online through social media. Descriptive, bivariate, and binary logistic analyses were done using SPSS Version 22. Results: We obtained 333 valid responses. Most participants reported that their health facility has some form of preparedness; however, only a small proportion reported enough PPEs in the health facility. About half (50.5%) showed good knowledge of COVID-19. There was a statistically significant difference among the professions regarding their reaction if they were found positive of COVID-19 (p=0.006). There was a significant association between health professions [other professions (Odds ratio [OR]=0.2, 95% Confidence interval [CI]:0.04–0 .9; p=0.038)] and overall knowledge of COVID-19. Conclusion: Our findings showed some form of preparedness towards COVID-19 among healthcare workers. However, many aspects, such as the availability of PPEs and their proper use and knowledge, need improvement. Thus, training and an adequate supply of equipment are required to better respond to upcoming COVID-19 waves and future outbreaks. Doi: 10.28991/SciMedJ-2021-03-SI-5 Full Text: PDF


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maimoona Nadri ◽  
Ujala Zubair

In 2019, the world experienced a global public health concern when the novel coronavirus originated from China and affected around fifty-seven thousand people around the world by March 2020. The quick rise in the number of cases and the death toll overwhelmed the scientific and medical community. While all the focus was driven towards finding the epidemiology, the treatment and the management, the mental health aspect of the quarantine was being overlooked. The purpose of this review is to create awareness about the long-term consequences of quarantine, with the focus on the elderly community in Pakistan. 


Author(s):  
Tieying Hou ◽  
Weiqi Zeng ◽  
Minling Yang ◽  
Wenjing Chen ◽  
Lili Ren ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe recent outbreak of infections by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the third zoonotic CoV has raised great public health concern. The demand for rapid and accurate diagnosis of this novel pathogen brought significant clinical and technological challenges. Currently, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) are the most widely used molecular diagnostics for 2019-nCoV.Methods2019-nCoV infections were confirmed in 52 specimens by mNGS. Genomic information was analyzed and used for the design and development of an isothermal, CRISPR-based diagnostic for the novel virus. The diagnostic performance of CRISPR-nCoV was assessed and also compared across three technology platforms (mNGS, RT-PCR and CRISPR)Results2019-nCoVs sequenced in our study were conserved with the Wuhan strain, and shared certain genetic similarity with SARS-CoV. A high degree of variation in the level of viral RNA was observed in clinical specimens. CRISPR-nCoV demonstrated a near single-copy sensitivity and great clinical sensitivity with a shorter turn-around time than RT-PCR.ConclusionCRISPR-nCoV presents as a promising diagnostic option for the emerging pathogen.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-126
Author(s):  
Zahraa Qusairy ◽  
Miran Rada

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has appeared to be one of the biggest global health threats worldwide with no specific therapeutic agents. As of August 2020, over 22.4 million confirmed cases and more than 788,000 deaths have been reported globally, and the toll is expected to increase before the pandemic is over. Given the aggressive nature of their underlying disease, cancer patients seem to be more vulnerable to COVID-19 and various studies have confirmed this hypothesis. Herein, we review the current information regarding the role of cancer in SARS-CoV-2 infections. Moreover, we discuss the effective supportive treatment options for COVID-19 including Dexamethasone, Tocilizumab and Remdesivir and convalescent plasma therapy (CPT), as well as discuss their efficacy in COVID-19 patients with cancer.


Author(s):  
Jeff Clyde G Corpuz

Abstract Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide. Even before the emergence of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 COVID-19 pandemic, suicide continued to be a major public health concern. Globally, someone dies by suicide every 40 s, and for each death, there are 20 more persons attempting suicide. A recently published article rightly stated the need for a ‘population-based approach’ to suicide prevention to mitigate suicide attempts. This paper further adds that there must be a stronger multi-agency or multi-sectoral approach to suicide prevention, intervention and postvention. This paper concludes with few suggestions on how to address the COVID-19-related suicide cases as the world continues to fight against the double pandemic.


Author(s):  
Fanila Shahzad ◽  
Md Talat Nasim

The novel coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19 has fast become a major health concern. The current pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV‐ 2) is the third coronavirus outbreak, following severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses. Since the initial cases of a pneumonia of unknown aetiology, which was later identified as COVID-19 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, there has been much debate and speculation regarding the origins of this novel virus. This review aims to provide an insight into the origin of SARS-CoV-2 by reflecting on genomic data gathered thus far. Identifying the origins of SARS-CoV-2 can lead to better understanding of hidden viral reservoirs that may exist and pose a threat to society as well as allow greater understanding of the mechanisms by which these viruses have successfully achieved cross species transmission. Greater knowledge in regard to this can lead to the development of strategies which can aid in preventing future outbreaks of this scale. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.19(0) 2020 p. p. S 85-S 87


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document