publication date: Feb. 19, 2021

Conversation with The Cancer Letter

Antoni Ribas: Cancer research has been pivotal to development of COVID-19 vaccines

Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD

President, AACR;

Professor of medicine, professor of surgery, professor of molecular and medical pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles;

Director, Tumor Immunology Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center;

Chair, Melanoma Committee, SWOG

This story is part of The Cancer Letter’s ongoing coverage of COVID-19’s impact on oncology. A full list of our coverage is available here.

In a matter of months, cancer researchers have gone from grappling with a surge of COVID-19 with limited clinical data to playing a critical role in the development of successful mRNA vaccines against the disease.

The most recent meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research on COVID-19 and Cancer illustrated the devastating effects of COVID-19 on cancer patients, particularly those with hematologic malignancies and lung cancer, said Antoni Ribas, president of AACR and professor of medicine, surgery, molecular and medical pharmacology at the University of California Los Angeles.

“This time, we have a broader view of the impact of COVID-19 on cancer research and on patients with cancer across the world,” said Ribas, who is also director of the Tumor Immunology Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and chair of the Melanoma Committee at SWOG. “With longer follow-up, we see that overall, there’s an increased risk of COVID-19-related complications and death in patients with cancer.”

The latest meeting … Continue reading Antoni Ribas: Cancer research has been pivotal to development of COVID-19 vaccines

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