Dr. Hill on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in MCL

Brian T. Hill, MD, PhD, director of the Lymphoid Malignancies Program and staff physician at Taussig Cancer Institute, as well as an assistant professor of Hematology and Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic, discusses the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

 The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the treatment of patients with cancer. However, MCL can be a highly proliferative disease. As such, the most effective therapies need to be given, says Hill.

With appropriate precautions, such as wearing masks and social distancing, patients are able to receive traditional chemotherapy regimens during the COVID-19 era, Hill explains.

Furthermore, the risk of contracting COVID-19 is minimal for patients compared with the risk of not receiving optimal therapy, Hill explains. 

For these reasons, COVID-19 has not had as significant of an impact on treatment recommendations in MCL compared with other tumor types, Hill concludes.