COVID-19 and cancer: From basic mechanisms to vaccine development using nanotechnology

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), is a global pandemic which has induced unprecedented ramifications, severely affecting our society due to the long incubation time, unpredictably high prevalence and lack of effective vaccines. One of the interesting notions is that there is an association between COVID-19 and cancer. Cancer patients seem to exhibit exacerbated conditions and a higher mortality rate when exposed to the virus. Therefore, vaccines are the promising solution to minimise the problem amongst cancer patients threatened by the new viral strains. However, there are still limitations to be considered, including the efficacy of COVID vaccines for immunocompromised individuals, possible interactions between the vaccine and cancer, and personalised medicine. Not only to eradicate the pandemic, but also to make it more effective for immunocompromised patients who are suffering from cancer, a successful vaccine platform is required through the implementation of nanotechnology which can also enable scalable manufacturing and worldwide distribution along with its faster and precise delivery. In this review, we summarise the current understanding of COVID-19 with clinical perspectives, highlighting the association between COVID-19 and cancer, followed by a vaccine development for this association using nanotechnology. We suggest different administration methods for the COVID-19 vaccine formulation options. This study will contribute to paving the way towards the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, especially for the immunocompromised individuals.

Automated summary

COVID-19 is associated with cancer, with cancer patients showing worsened symptoms and higher mortality when infected. Vaccines offer a promising solution to reduce the impact of the virus on cancer patients.