Use of monoclonal antibodies for hematologic conditions during covid-19

Aims & Objectives: SARS-COV2, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), has affected 7 6 million people in India with close to 115000 deaths COVID-19 has imposed restrictions on travel due to lockdown and affected treatments of patients, including those with hematologic malignancies To study the pattern of use of monoclonal antibodies, delays in treatment, reasons for delay and treatment related complications during COVID-19 Patients/Materials & Methods: All patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing treatment with monoclonal antibodies in the Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology at the American Oncology Institute, Hyderabad from April 1 to October 15 2020 were included for analysis Results: A total of 36 patients, took cumulative 119 cycles of treatment during this period Median age was 57 5 years and the number of males and females were 21 and 15 respectively Diffuse large B cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), followed by Follicular Lymphoma (FL) and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL), was seen in 10, 5 and 5 patients respectively Rituximab and Daratumumab were used in 33 and 3 patients respectively Three patients during this period turned out COVID RT-PCR positive and two were symptomatic with fever and one patient had COVID pneumonitis All three patients recovered with no deaths during this period Treatment delay was seen in 4 patients One patient was delayed due to lockdown, while the three COVID positive patients had to postpone their treatment There were no treatment related complications during this period Post COVID recovery monoclonal antibodies were used in all the 3 patients for a total of 7 cycles None of the patients had any complications Discussion & Conclusion: Monoclonal antibodies in hematologic malignancies are safe during COVID-19 with no treatment related adverse events Most patients adhered to treatment, and administering them in patients who recovered from COVID-19 did not pose any significant challenges