Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Outcomes, Care and Treatment, and Vaccine Efficacy in Cancer Patients
3 February 2025
Main Applicant – Dr Lee Xinwei Matilda, Consultant, Department of Haematology-Oncology, National University Health System
COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, resulted in a global pandemic.
To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, various Safe Management Measures (SMMs) such as safe distancing, mask wearing were imposed. In particular, during the Circuit Breaker, non-essential healthcare services were deferred while essential healthcare services were scaled down.
Although cancer patients were considered as vulnerable populations to severe infections such as COVID-19, the full impact of infections (such as COVID-19) on cancer patients remains to be elucidated.
Hence, this study will provide insights of the impact of infections (eg. COVID-19) on cancer patients’ outcomes, cancer care and the effectiveness of vaccines in mitigating severe outcomes of infection in cancer patients as compared to the general population, where such vaccines are available (eg. COVID-19). The findings obtained will contribute to future public health strategies and policy development, leading to a more effective and targeted medical treatments for patients with cancer.