New Study Finds Breast Cancer Patients Treated With Chemotherapy Didn't Have Increased Risk For COVID Infection
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A new study is providing reassuring news for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy during the pandemic.
A new NYU Langone Health study found breast cancer patients treated with chemo did not have an increased risk for COVID infection compared to patients who had other therapies.
The study followed more than 3,000 breast cancer patients treated at the height of the pandemic.
"We also found that patients who contracted COVID-19 who had previously received chemotherapy did not have a higher mortality rate," said Dr. Douglas Marks, a medical oncologist with NYU Langone Health's Perlmutter Cancer Center.
Older and overweight patients, however, were found to have a higher risk of dying from COVID.
Researchers say this study is believed to be the first to look at whether breast cancer therapies can affect COVID-19 infection and death risk.
