Un-CoV-er
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Un-CoV-er: Understanding the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with blood cancer.
IRAS ID
289408
Contact name
Andrew R Pettitt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to international efforts to minimise the spread of the disease, particularly to those who are most vulnerable to its effects. Patients with blood cancers are considered to be amongst those at the highest risk of COVID-19 infection and were therefore advised by NHS England to ‘shield’ for 12 weeks at the peak of the pandemic. In addition, changes were made t the management of blood cancers were made, partly to improve hospital capacity and partly to minimise risk of COVID-19 transmission by reducing hospital visits and treatments which suppress the immune system. However, as we enter the ‘chronic’ phase of the pandemic, more information is needed in order to give the best possible advice to people with different types of blood cancer – balancing the risk of COVID-19 itself with the potentially delirious effects of COVID avoidance/mitigation strategies.
The aim of this study is to provide an evidence base that can support this initiative. This will be done by using routinely collected national data already in existence to discover how patients with blood cancers were affected during the pandemic. The first part of the study aims to learn whether people with different types of blood cancer were more likely to contract and develop severe forms of COVID-19 compared with the general population. The second part of the study will investigate how the diagnosis and treatment of different types of blood cancer have changed as a result of the pandemic, and how these changes have affected cancer outcomes. Together, these complementary strands of information will inform on future public health policy and help individual patients to make difficult decisions about treatment options and shielding during the chronic phase of the pandemic.
REC name
Wales REC 4
REC reference
21/WA/0114
Date of REC Opinion
9 Apr 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion