Cancer Increases the Risk of COVID-19 Infection: A Literature Review

A new public health crisis threatening globally, is the emergence of novel Corona virus 2019 (COVID-19) or the acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The COVID-19 virus was originated in China, particularly in the Wuhan lab of Hubei province in December 2019. It has been found that cancer patients are highly susceptible to infection with COVID 19, and developed more critical symptoms as compared to the normal or non-cancer patients possibly due to the systemic immunosuppressive status, caused by excessive tumor growth as well as effects of anticancer treatment. Extensive literature survey shows that patients with hematological malignancies including lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma had a more severe infection of COVID-19 as compared to the solid tumor patients. In this review, we have discussed the risk and impact of COVID-19 infection on the individuals on the basis of cancer subgroups and patient demographics (sex, age group), and preventive guidelines and resources in addition to highlighting the clinical management and recommendations.