Protecting Cancer Patients against COVID-19: One Year from Vaccine Approvals

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to participate in the first webinar of a new ESMO Webinar Series which will focus on protection of cancer patients against COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality and summarise the current evidence available one-year post the approval of the COVID-19 vaccines.

This webinar series aims to provide an overview of prognostication algorithms for COVID-19 in cancer patients, as well as an up-to-date overview of the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines in these patients. Emerging data on monitoring and enhancing vaccine-induced immunity will be highlighted; therapeutic interventions beyond vaccines for the prevention of severe morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed or high-risk patients will be summarised, and insights into the progress of research on second generation vaccine development will be shared.

I am delighted to announce in the topics of the presentations which will be covered in this webinar. We will begin with a lecture on risk prediction for COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. This will be followed by a presentation elaborating on the immunogenicity and safety of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with solid cancers. Finally, we will discuss COVID-19 posed uncertainties in relation to positioning of vaccine booster strategies and fighting vaccine inequality in the pandemic.

The programme is designed to provide an overview of current evidence, offer exchange of opinions from top experts and provide important considerations with regard to protection of patients with cancer against COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality

Emanuela Romano
Director, Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, Department of Oncology, Institut Curie, Paris, France