Background Early reports on patients with cancer and COVID-19 have suggested a high mortality rate compared with the general population. Patients with thoracic malignancies are thought to be particularly susceptible to COVID-19 given their older age, smoking habits, and pre-existing cardiopulmonary comorbidities, in addition to cancer treatments. We aimed to study the effect of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on patients with thoracic malignancies. MethodsThe Thoracic Cancers International COVID-19 Collaboration (TERAVOLT) registry is a multicentre observational study composed of a cross-sectional component and a longitudinal cohort component. Eligibility criteria were the presence of any thoracic cancer (non-small-cell lung cancer [NSCLC], small-cell lung cancer, mesothelioma, thymic epithelial tumours, and other pulmonary neuroendocrine neoplasms) and a COVID-19 diagnosis, either laboratory confirmed with RT-PCR, suspected with symptoms and contacts, or radiologically suspected cases with lung imaging features consistent with COVID-19 pneumonia and symptoms. Patients of any age, sex, histology, or stage were considered eligible, including those in active treatment and clinical follow-up. Clinical data were extracted from medical records of consecutive patients from Jan 1, 2020, and will be collected until the end of pandemic declared by WHO. Data on demographics, oncological history and comorbidities, COVID-19 diagnosis, and course of illness and clinical outcomes were collected. Associations between demographic or clinical characteristics and outcomes were measured with odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs using univariable and multivariable logistic regression, with sex, age, smoking status, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease included in multivariable analysis. This is a preliminary analysis of the first 200 patients. The registry continues to accept new sites and patient data. Findings Between March 26 and April 12, 2020, 200 patients with COVID-19 and thoracic cancers from eight countries were identified and included in the TERAVOLT registry; median age was 68•0 years (61•8-75•0) and the majority had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-1 (142 [72%] of 196 patients), were current or former smokers (159 [81%] of 196), had non-small-cell lung cancer (151 [76%] of 200), and were on therapy at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis (147 [74%] of 199), with 112 (57%) of 197 on first-line treatment. 152 (76%) patients were hospitalised and 66 (33%) died. 13 (10%) of 134 patients who met criteria for ICU admission were admitted to ICU; the remaining 121 were hospitalised, but were not admitted to ICU. Univariable analyses revealed that being older than 65 years (OR 1•88, 95% 1•00-3•62), being a current or former smoker (4•24, 1•70-12•95), receiving treatment with chemotherapy alone (2•54, 1•09-6•11), and the presence of any comorbidities (2•65, 1•09-7•46) were associated with increased risk of death. However, in multivariable analysis, only smo...

In patients treated with high-dose cisplatin, the daily addition of ginger, even if safe, did not result in a protective effect on CINV. The favorable effect observed on nausea in subgroups at particular risk of nausea (females; HNC) deserves specific investigation.

Background Very few cancer patients were enrolled in COVID-19 vaccine studies. In order to address this gap of knowledge, real world studies are mandatory. Aim of this study was to assess both humoral and cellular response after a mRNA vaccination schedule. Patients and methods Eighty-eight consecutive cancer patients treated with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors were enrolled from the beginning of the vaccination campaign for frail patients. Blood samples for humoral and cell-mediated immune response evaluation were obtained before vaccination (T0), before the second administration (T1) and 21 days after the second dose (T2). The primary end-point was the evaluation of the percentage of participants showing a significant increase in SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells, measured by an ELISPOT assay, after the second dose of BNT162b2 vaccine. The proportion of patients who reached the primary endpoint is computed together with its exact binomial 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Results In SARS-CoV-2 naïve subjects, Spike-specific T-cell response was almost undetectable at T0 (median 0.0 IFNγ SFU/million PBMC IQR 0-7.5) and significantly increased at T1 and T2 (median 15.0 IFNγ SFU/million PBMC 25th-75th 0-40 vs 90 IFNγ SFU/million PBMC 25th-75th 32.5-224; respectively) (p<0.001). Focusing on naïve and experienced SARS-CoV-2 subjects no differences were reported both in terms of CD4 and CD8-specific T-cell response, suggesting that BNT162b2 is able to elicit both adaptive responses after complete vaccination schedule, regardless previous SARS-CoV-2 exposure. The level of SARS-CoV-2 NT Abs was low at T1 in SARS-CoV-2 naïve subjects [median 1:5 (IQR 1:5-1:20)] but reached a significantly higher median 1:80 (25th-75th 1:20-1:160) at T2 (p<0.0001). Moreover no COVID-19 cases were documented throughout the period of study. Conclusions Our data have demonstrated that the administration of a full course of BNT162b2 vaccine elicited a sustained immune response against SARS-CoV-2 regardless to the type of cancer and/or the type of ICIs.