According to a report from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 44,0000 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases from the initial outbreak in December 2019 and February 2020, with an overall 2.3-percent case mortality rate.
Even though fatalities from COVID-19, the acute respiratory disease that resulted from SARS-CoV-2, were less often compared with fatalities from other types of coronavirus, COVID-19 was exponentially more infectious, and cases spread from Wuhan, China, all over the world within weeks, with shattering impacts in Italy, Lombardy and New York City.
As of early this month, less than one year following the emergence of the pandemic, there have been over 46 million confirmed infections globally, resulting in about 1.2 million deaths.
In the United States, the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 infections and deaths, as of early this month, were more than nine million and over 230,000, respectively.
Early this year, it was reported thatan unprecedented move, Chinese authorities put travel restrictions on the city of 11 million and two other neighboring cities preventing people from leaving. The number of those who have died from COVID-19 in China climbed to at least 17 in January this year, and cases have been reported in other countries including the United States, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.
Risk of Infection Higher in Cancer Patients
The said report specified that evidence that the risk for infection "was higher in patients with cancer" started to mount as early as February this year.
Additionally, the case fatality rate among patients who have cancer was reported to be twofold at 5.6 percent, "that of the rate in the general population."
With regards to questions on how to measure equipment like ventilators, were argued in hospitals throughout the country and the world, the outlook for patients who have lung cancer appeared particularly unclear to thoracic oncologists.
From then on, science, collaborative initiatives globally have validated higher risks of COVID-19 in lung cancer patients and revealed that preventive tactics are the best shield those involved in such efforts have to offer.
Challenges Met
The pathogenesis of this new coronavirus puts patients who have lung cancer at a certain risk of infection. The virus, such as SARS-CoV, is using the "angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 or ACE2 receptor to go into host cells."
As indicated in the report, ACE2 prominently "more highly expressed in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and in smokers," two cohesions among patients who have lung cancer diagnoses.
Furthermore, in severe and deadly cases, restricted gross results from autopsy studies have presented huge areas of long consolidation, as well as hemorrhage with mucus plugs in small airways, which are quite more likely and fatal in patients who have already-reduced lung capacity linked to their disease.
Prevention And Cure
For the time being, the major goal of managing lung cancer during this global health crisis is to minimalize the danger of exposing health care providers and patients to infection while dealing with all the dangerous aspects of their malignancy.
In an investigation of patients with cancer in three Wuhan hospitals, about 1.3 percent of patients were found and reported to have contracted COVID-19 during their hospital confinement.
In addition, restricting face-to-face visits, as well as screening for COVID-19 symptoms, has since turned out to be a routine at most medical practices, as has had patients going through invasive procedures.
Clinical test enrollment is adapting, too, allowing remote consent and observing practices. In addition, prioritizing systemic treatments with reduced myelosuppression risk, shorter therapy time, and less frequent treatment visits have been recommended, as has regularly testing all patients who have radiologic abnormalities and symptoms dependent on radiation or immunotherapy-induced pneumonitis before a corticosteroid treatment.
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