Ninety-nine percent of respondents indicated that the pandemic negatively impacted their research, career, and/or patient care.
Eighty-seven percent of respondents reported a drop in productivity.
Sixty-one percent of respondents indicated that the pandemic has delayed their career advancement.
At the same time, cancer researchers who were uniquely positioned to respond to many of the scientific questions posed by COVID-19 have used their expertise in genetics, immunology, and drug development to combat the pandemic. For example, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) unified its national network of serology centers to support research on SARS-CoV-2 immunology and to increase the nation’s serological testing capacity. Research from this network has uncovered important insights into the mechanisms of immune response to COVID-19.
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What’s more, as explained in the report, decades of research into mRNA vaccines for use as cancer immunotherapies paved the way for the development of COVID-19 vaccines at an unprecedented speed. In turn, the tremendous success of the COVID-19 vaccines has renewed enthusiasm for mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies, which have the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment.
“We have tackled cancer in a science-based manner, where we define the problem, understand the processes, and then develop treatments or ways to improve health,” said Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, FAACR, chair of both the AACR Report on the Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Research and Patient Care Steering Committee and the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer Task Force, and immediate Past President of AACR. “The same had to be done for COVID-19. The cancer research community has generated so many tools to study cancer — sequencing, developing antibodies, pioneering targeted therapies — that have also helped researchers address COVID-19. And the best example of all is the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.”
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PANDEMIC
Despite the many adverse effects of the pandemic, some of the necessary adjustments to clinical research and practice over the past two years have the potential to improve care for patients with cancer in the future. As noted in the report:
The use of telemedicine for health care needs was 38 times higher in July 2021 than before the pandemic, an expansion that was welcomed by most Americans.
The pandemic also required changes to the conduct of clinical trials that made such studies more patient-centric, a shift that has the potential to increase and diversify clinical trial participation, shorten the timelines for some trials, and minimize the financial and logistical burdens on clinical trial participants.
