Data on SARS‐CoV‐2 detection in lesional skin is controversial. 1‐8 We report a PCR‐proven COVID‐19 patient with a chilblain‐like SARS‐CoV‐2 positive skin lesion. An 80‐year‐old woman presented to the emergency department at the End of March 2020. She reported an onset of fever (38.4 C°) several days before admission, along with cough and shortness of breath. RT‐PCR from a nasopharyngeal swab was positive for SARS‐CoV‐2. An X‐ray showed evidence for right‐sided pneumonic infiltrates.
Whether cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are at an increased risk of severe infection and mortality during the corona pandemic is a hotly debated topic that will continue to evolve. Here, we summarize and discuss current studies regarding COVID-19 and anti-cancer treatment with an emphasis on ICI. Importantly, several lines of evidence suggest that patients currently treated with ICI do not display an increased vulnerability to infection with SARS-CoV-2. Data regarding morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19 in cancer patients receiving ICI are less clear and often conflicting. Although mostly based on experimental data, it is possible that ICI can promote the exacerbated immune response associated with adverse outcome in COVID-19 patients. On the other hand, mounting evidence suggests that ICI might even be useful in the treatment of viral infections by preventing or ameliorating T cell exhaustion. In this context, the right timing of treatment might be essential. Nevertheless, some cancer patients treated with ICI experience autoimmune-related side effects that require the use of immunosuppressive therapies, which in turn may promote a severe course of infection with SARS-CoV-2. Although there is clear evidence that withholding ICI will have more serious consequences, further studies are urgently needed in to better evaluate the effects of ICI in patients with COVID-19 and the use of ICI during the corona pandemic in general.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have shown very promising results in the management of patients with inoperable or metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). However, ICI can cause a range of immune‐related adverse events (irAEs) affecting a multitude of organs including skin, gastrointestinal tract, endocrine system, heart, lung, kidneys and the nervous system. In principle, clinical management irAEs does not change significantly with respect to the kind of cancer treated with ICI. However, advanced cSCC typically occurs in a clinically challenging patient population typically presenting with advanced age and/or significant comorbidities such as immunosuppression due to haematological malignancies and their respective treatment. Moreover, many patients with advanced cSCC are organ transplant patients taking immunosuppressants. As a consequence use of ICI per se and management of ICI‐induced irAEs generates more complexity and difficulties in patients with cSCC compared to other entities. Here, we provide a brief review on the management of anti‐programmed cell death protein 1‐induced irAEs in patients with cSCC focusing on the characteristic clinical challenges present in this population.
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