A study coordinated by Unipd identifies therapies and new COVID complications

03.10.2023

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a rare form of cancer, but is the most common type of leukemia found in the Western world. At the forefront of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, patients with hematological diseases and those with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, were found to hold a higher risk of developing severe forms of the COVID-19 virus.

A University of Padua research team coordinated two important chronic lymphocytic leukemia studies.

Published in the American Journal of Hematology, the work entitled The evolving landscape of COVID-19 and post-COVID condition in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: A study by ERIC, the European research initiative on CLL, combined the data taken from 80 countries of over 1500 patients with CLL infected by SARS-CoV-2. Coordinated by Dr. Andrea Visentin at the Department of Medicine of the University of Padua, researchers found that as the waves of COVID-19 infections passed, the number of people who recovered also increased. At the same time, as the number of people developing long-term complications rose, a higher risk includes 15% of those with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who may develop long-term post COVID signs and symptoms.