Panayiotis S. Savvides, MD, a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic Arizona, discusses COVID-19 precautions for patients with lung cancer.

The situation with COVID-19 continues to rapidly evolve, with providers working hard to observe all available information and rapidly communicate with one another as they try to extrapolate the data from epidemiologic observations, says Savvides. It appears that those who are more susceptible to experiencing severe, and potentially lethal, complications from COVID-19 infection have certain characteristics. Susceptible populations include those who are elderly, those with significant comorbidities, and those who are immunosuppressed. Many patients with lung cancer are included in the latter category, says Savvides. As a group, all patients with cancer who are undergoing active treatment and are immunosuppressed have to be more careful and physicians must try to minimize their exposure to the virus, concludes Savvides.

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Panayiotis S. Savvides, MD, discusses COVID-19 precautions for patients with lung cancer.

Dr. Savvides on the Risk of COVID-19 in Patients With Cancer

Panayiotis S. Savvides, MD, a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic Arizona, discusses the utility of immunotherapy in lung cancer.

Documenting the efficacy of immunotherapy in lung cancer has revolutionized what patients have been offered over the past few years, says Savvides. The options that are avaliable to patients have significantly improved with these advances, adds Savvides. Interestingly, the safety profile of immunotherapies completely differs from that of cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens that the field had been using. Immunotherapy appears to have a more favorable safety profile, concludes Savvides.

Panayiotis S. Savvides, MD, discusses the utility of immunotherapy in lung cancer.

Panayiotis S. Savvides, MD

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Dr. Savvides on the Risk of COVID-19 in Patients With Cancer

Dr. Savvides on the Utility of Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer