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Review
. 2021 Nov:167:103491.
doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103491. Epub 2021 Oct 6.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in patients with prostate cancer: A critical review

Orazio Caffo  1 , Marco Messina  2 , Antonello Veccia  3 , Stefania Kinspergher  3 , Francesca Maines  3 , Carlo Messina  2
Affiliations
Review

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in patients with prostate cancer: A critical review

Orazio Caffo et al. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Real-world data suggest a possible interplay between androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and susceptibility to and the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. As ADT is the backbone of prostate cancer treatment, various authors have evaluated different patient cohorts but the evidence provided is conflicting. The aim of this review is to assess the available publications concerning the role of ADT in preventing or reducing the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. After a literature search we identified four full papers, five letters, and four meeting abstracts, but these used different search methods and the quality of the evidence varied. They frequently had different endpoints, did not report the status of the prostate cancer patients and evaluated heterogeneous populations. The available data do not support the view that ADT protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Larger and more precise studies are warranted, considering variables that affect infection outcomes as these significantly influence the reliability of the findings.

Keywords: Androgen deprivation therapy; Prostate cancer; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

OC received honoraria from Astellas, Astra Zeneca, Bayer, Janssen, Pfizer, was advisor for Astellas, Janssen, MSD, was speaker for Astellas

The other authors have no disclosure to make.

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