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Marcelo Soares: Cytokine and Lymphocyte Profiles of Cancer Patients With COVID-19
Marcelo Soares/LinkedIn
Jul 3, 2026, 19:15

Marcelo Soares: Cytokine and Lymphocyte Profiles of Cancer Patients With COVID-19

Marcelo Soares, Full Investigator at the National Cancer Institute, Associate Professor at UFRJ, shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent article he and his colleages co-authored, published in Viruses, adding:

“Patients with cancer are at increased risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19, but the immunological determinants underlying this vulnerability remain incompletely understood, particularly in low- and middle-income settings.

This study aimed to characterize the cytokine and lymphocyte profiles of cancer patients with COVID-19, correlate these profiles with disease severity, and compare them to those of non-cancer patients with COVID-19.

A total of 67 patients were analyzed: 40 with cancer (26 mild cases and 14 severe cases) and 27 without cancer (12 mild cases and 15 severe cases).

Our findings revealed elevated CXCL10 (IP-10) and reduced MIF levels in cancer patients with COVID-19, distinguished by disease severity. Compared with that in cancer patients with mild COVID-19, the level of CXCL10 in cancer patients with severe COVID-19 was further elevated.

Additionally, cancer patients with COVID-19 presented reduced CD3+ T lymphocytes, expansion of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory cells and CD56BRIGHT NK cells, a shift from effector memory to central memory T-cells, and increased numbers of exhausted (PD-1+) T lymphocytes.

Our data suggest a distinct immunological profile observed in cancer patients with COVID-19, in which viral surge-related suppressor cells and proinflammatory cytokines were accompanied by a compensatory immunosuppressive state, with decreased effector function and increased exhaustion.

I was thrilled to participate in this study led by Joao Viola at INCA and Patricia Bozza at Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), with participation of our Researcher Livia Goes from Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro.”

Title: Cytokine and Lymphocyte Profiles in COVID-19 Patients with Cancer: Implications for Disease Severity and Clinical Outcomes

Authors: Marina M. Burlá, Karina L. Silva, Bárbara C. Peixoto, Livia R. Goes, Isaclaudia Azevedo-Quintanilha, Fernando A. Bozza, Marcelo A. Soares, Andreia C. de Melo, Eugenio D. Hottz, Patricia T. Bozza, João P. B. Viola

Marcelo Soares

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Andreia C. de Melo Bárbara C. Peixoto Blood cancer Covid-19 cytokine Eugenio D. Hottz Fernando A. Bozza Health Hematology Hemostasis News Hemostasis Today Isaclaudia Azevedo-Quintanilha João P. B. Viola Joao Viola Karina L. Silva Livia R. Goes lymphocyte Marcelo A. Soares Marcelo Soares Marina M. Burlá Medicine Patricia T. Bozza Viruses
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