TERAVOLT: Thoracic Cancers International COVID-19 Collaboration.

Prior publications on small subsets of cancer patients infected with SARS CoV-2 have shown an increased risk of mortality compared to the general population. Furthermore, patients with thoracic malignancies are thought to be at particularly high risk given their older age, smoking habits, and pre-existing cardio-pulmonary comorbidities. For this reason, physicians around the world have formed TERAVOLT, a global consortium dedicated to understanding the impact of COVID-19 on patients with thoracic malignancies

Supporting Clinical Decision-Making during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic through a Global Research Commitment: The TERAVOLT Experience.

To understand the real impact of COVID-19 on cancer patients, an entirely new data collection effort was initiated within the Thoracic Cancers International COVID-19 Collaboration (TERAVOLT). TERAVOLT reported high mortality related to COVID-19 infection in thoracic cancer patients and identified several negative prognostic factors. In this commentary, we discuss the importance and limits of patient registries to support decision-making in thoracic cancer during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Neoadjuvant pazopanib and molecular analysis of tissue response in renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND. Surgery remains the frontline therapy for patients with localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC); however, 20%–40% recur. Angiogenesis inhibitors have improved survival in metastatic patients and may result in responses in the neoadjuvant setting. The impact of these agents on the tumor genetic heterogeneity or the immune milieu is largely unknown. This phase II study was designed to evaluate safety, response, and effect on tumor tissue of neoadjuvant pazopanib. METHODS. ccRCC patients with localized disease received pazopanib (800 mg daily; median 8 weeks), followed by nephrectomy. Five tumors were examined for mutations by whole exome sequencing from samples collected before therapy and at nephrectomy. These samples underwent RNA sequencing; 17 samples were available for posttreatment assessment. RESULTS. Twenty-one patients were enrolled. The overall response rate was 8 of 21 (38%). No patients with progressive disease. At 1-year, response-free survival and overall survival was 83% and 89%, respectively. The most frequent grade 3 toxicity was hypertension (33%, 7 of 21). Sequencing revealed strong concordance between pre- and posttreatment samples within individual tumors, suggesting tumors harbor stable core profiles. However, a reduction in private mutations followed treatment, suggesting a selective process favoring enrichment of driver mutations. CONCLUSION. Neoadjuvant pazopanib is safe and active in ccRCC. Future genomic analyses may enable the segregation of driver and passenger mutations. Furthermore, tumor infiltrating immune cells persist during therapy, suggesting that pazopanib can be combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors without dampening the immune response. FUNDING. Support was provided by Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline as part of an investigator-initiated study

Supporting Clinical Decision-Making during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic through a Global Research Commitment: The TERAVOLT Experience.

To understand the real impact of COVID-19 on cancer patients, an entirely new data collection effort was initiated within the Thoracic Cancers International COVID-19 Collaboration (TERAVOLT). TERAVOLT reported high mortality related to COVID-19 infection in thoracic cancer patients and identified several negative prognostic factors. In this commentary, we discuss the importance and limits of patient registries to support decision-making in thoracic cancer during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

COVID-19 and Cancer: A Review of the Registry-Based Pandemic Response.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had consequences for patients with cancer worldwide and has been associated with delays in diagnosis, interruption of treatment and follow-up care, and increases in overall infection rates and premature mortality. Despite the challenges experienced during the pandemic, the global oncology community has responded with an unprecedented level of investigation, collaboration, and technological innovation through the rapid development of COVID-19 registries that have allowed an increased understanding of the natural history, risk factors, and outcomes of patients with cancer who are diagnosed with COVID-19. This review describes 14 major registries comprising more than 28 500 patients with cancer and COVID-19; these ongoing registry efforts have provided an improved understanding of the impact and outcomes of COVID-19 among patients with cancer. An initiative is needed to promote active collaboration between different registries to improve the quality and consistency of information. Well-designed prospective and randomized clinical trials are needed to collect high-level evidence to guide long-term epidemiologic, behavioral, and clinical decision-making for this and future pandemics

COVID-19 in patients with cancer: first report of the ESMO international, registry-based, cohort study (ESMO-CoCARE)

Background: ESMO COVID-19 and CAncer REgistry (ESMO-CoCARE) is an international collaborative registry-based, cohort study gathering real-world data from Europe, Asia/Oceania and Africa on the natural history, management and outcomes of patients with cancer infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Patients and methods: ESMO-CoCARE captures information on patients with solid/haematological malignancies, diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Data collected since June 2020 include demographics, comorbidities, laboratory measurements, cancer characteristics, COVID-19 clinical features, management and outcome. Parameters influencing COVID-19 severity/recovery were investigated as well as factors associated with overall survival (OS) upon SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: This analysis includes 1626 patients from 20 countries (87% from 24 European, 7% from 5 North African, 6% from 8 Asian/Oceanian centres), with COVID-19 diagnosis from January 2020 to May 2021. Median age was 64 years, with 52% of female, 57% of cancer stage III/IV and 65% receiving active cancer treatment. Nearly 64% patients required hospitalization due to COVID-19 diagnosis, with 11% receiving intensive care. In multivariable analysis, male sex, older age, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≥2, body mass index (BMI) <25 kg/m2, presence of comorbidities, symptomatic disease, as well as haematological malignancies, active/progressive cancer, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≥6 and OnCovid Inflammatory Score ≤40 were associated with COVID-19 severity (i.e. severe/moderate disease requiring hospitalization). About 98% of patients with mild COVID-19 recovered, as opposed to 71% with severe/moderate disease. Advanced cancer stage was an additional adverse prognostic factor for recovery. At data cut-off, and with median follow-up of 3 months, the COVID-19-related death rate was 24.5% (297/1212), with 380 deaths recorded in total. Almost all factors associated with COVID-19 severity, except for BMI and NLR, were also predictive of inferior OS, along with smoking and non-Asian ethnicity. Conclusions: Selected patient and cancer characteristics related to sex, ethnicity, poor fitness, comorbidities, inflammation and active malignancy predict for severe/moderate disease and adverse outcomes from COVID-19 in patients with cancer. © 2022 The Author

COVID-19 Outcomes, Patient Vaccination Status, and Cancer-Related Delays during the Omicron Wave: A Brief Report from the TERAVOLT Analysis.

The Thoracic Centers International COVID-19 Collaboration (TERAVOLT) registry found ∼ 30% mortality in patients with thoracic malignancies during the initial COVID surges. Data from South Africa suggested a decrease in severity and mortality with the Omicron wave. Our objective was to assess mortality of patients with thoracic malignancies with the Omicron-predominant wave, and efficacy of vaccination. A prospective, multicenter observational study was conducted. Twenty-eight institutions contributed data from January 14, 2022 through February 4, 2022. Inclusion criteria was any thoracic cancer and a COVID-19 diagnosis on or after November 1, 2021. Endpoints included mortality, hospitalization, symptomatic COVID infection, asymptomatic COVID infection, and delay in cancer therapy. Analysis was done through contingency tables and a multivariable logistic model. We enrolled 346 patients. Median age was 65, 52.3% were female, 74.2% were current or former smokers, 86% had NSCLC, 72% were Stage IV at time of COVID diagnosis, and 66% were receiving therapy. Variant was unknown for 70%; for those known, Omicron represented 82%. Overall mortality was 3.2%. Using multivariate analysis, COVID vaccination with booster compared with no vaccination showed a protective effect on hospitalization or death (OR 0.30, CI 0.15-0.57, p=0.0003), while vaccination without booster did not (OR of 0.64, CI 0.33-1.24, p=0.1864). Cancer care was delayed in 56.4% of patients. TERAVOLT found reduced patient mortality with the most recent COVID surge. COVID vaccination with booster improved outcomes of hospitalization or death. Delays in cancer therapy remain an issue, which has the potential to worsen cancer-related mortality

The Current State of Women Print Journalists: An Analysis of the Status and Careers of Females in Newspapers Sports Departments

The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis of the current state of women journalists within the sports departments at newspapers across the United States. This investigation involved a determination of their demographic make-up, job status within the sports department, rationale for entering the field, and advice for younger women preparing to follow in their footsteps. The findings suggest that although the large majority of women have faced discrimination in the sport media, they believe improvements have been made towards equity. The majority of respondents noted that they were happy with the assignments they had been given. Subjects did, however, feel that they were assigned to cover females more than their male counterparts, and some responses regarding dissatisfaction with their positions was also noted. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2005media, sport, female, journalist, reporters,