The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has a direct impact on all medical specialities, and oncology is definitely no exception to this. In any case, COVID-19 represents a significant clinical threat to patients with cancer. In fact, recent data show that Belgian cancer patients who were admitted to secondary care with a COVID-19 infection, were 34% more likely to die within 30 days of admission, compared to COVID-19 patients without an active solid tumour.1 It is well-established that almost all therapeutic modalities used in cancer patients directly interact with the immune system. In this light, concerns have been raised on the potential impact of anticancer therapy on the course of a COVID-19 infection. These concerns were most pronounced in relation to the role of immunomodulatory drugs, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in COVID-19 infected patients. These agents directly bind to lymphocytes and subsequently exhibit pleiotropic effects on the activity of a patient’s immune system. As such, it is no surprise that there is great interest in the potential interaction between ICI therapies and the course of a COVID-19 infection.
