ISARIC Clinical Characterisation Protocol UK (CCP-UK) - a companion study for patients with Cancer and COVID-19 (CCP-CANCER-UK)

2019 a new virus called SARS-CoV-2 emerged, which causes a disease termed COVID-19. This is often mild but can also be severe, leading to viral pneumonia; about one in 100 infected people are expected to die of i t. However, cancer patients are likely to be at higher risk of infection and death as they have a weakened immune system as a result of either their treatment or their cancer. We will tackle many urgent questions that need answering in cancer patients to help ensure early diagnosis, that the correct shielding advice i s given, and to enable doctors and patients to make informed decisions regarding treatment during the pandemic. This will be achieved by collecting detailed data from the over 5,000 cancer patients recruited into the main UK study which has described COVID-19 (CCP-UK study). The cancer data when linked with the rich COVID-19 data will enable the following important questions to be answered: What proportion of cancer patients die from COVID-19? How does this vary based on cancer type and cancer treatment? What are the symptoms cancer patients develop with COVID-19? Does this vary based on type of cancer and treatment? What type of cancer treatments puts people at higher risk of severe illness and death? What kind of healthcare resources are needed (including intensive care) to treat COVID-19 in cancer patients? How do the outcome of patients with cancer compare with non-cancer patients taking into account age and other illnesses?