People with cancer have been cautious about receiving treatment during the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Results from a clinical trial conducted by the UK Coronavirus Cancer Monitoring Project suggest that chemotherapy does not significantly increase the risk of COVID-19 in some people with cancer, particularly those who receive low-dose chemotherapy, such as people with prostate or breast cancer, and older patients.

“We have initial data from this study suggesting that at least some types of patients can go on with their regular therapies during COVID-19,” Michael L. Grossbard, MD, professor in the Department of Medicine and section chief of hematology at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet. “While this most recent study from Europe is interesting and encouraging, I think all of us are still going to have a lot of caution with how we treat our patients during the COVID era.”

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