The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly escalated into a global crisis. Although children are less likely to develop severe illness than adults, a study has now highlighted that infants and younger children (ie, ≤5 years) are more likely to develop severe clinical manifestations than older children (ie, ≥6 years), with immaturity of the immune system cited as a potential explanation. In turn, it is known that viral infections, including with other human coronaviruses, are associated with increased morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised children. Although data on the clinical features and outcome of immunocompromised children with cancer infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are scarce, Liang and colleagues suggested an increased risk of COVID-19 in adults with cancer. Despite the limitations of this analysis, as highlighted by Wang and colleagues and Xia and colleagues, experience from previous pandemics, such as influenza A H1N1, suggests that the vulnerability of immunosuppressed patients to infection is likely to manifest as an increased number of cases are described with time. Most childhood cancers behave aggressively and need immediate treatment, often requiring prolonged periods of intensive multiagent chemotherapy. As such, postponement of therapy, which Liang and colleagues proposed could be considered on a case-by-case basis for adults with cancer, is not an option for children.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19对癌症儿童的挑战。

2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行已迅速升级为全球危机。尽管与成年人相比，儿童患严重疾病的可能性较小，但一项研究现在强调指出，与未成年人（≥6岁）相比，婴幼儿（即≤5岁）更容易出现严重的临床表现。免疫系统功能被认为是一种潜在的解释。反过来，已知病毒感染，包括其他人类冠状病毒感染，与免疫受损儿童的发病率和死亡率增加有关。尽管缺乏关于感染了严重急性呼吸系统综合症冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的免疫功能低下儿童癌症的临床特征和结果的数据，但Liang和同事提出，成人癌症患者中COVID-19的风险增加。尽管此分析有局限性，如Wang和他的同事以及Xia和他的同事所强调的那样，先前流行病（例如甲型H1N1流感）的经验表明，随着病例数的增加，免疫抑制患者容易受到感染。随着时间的推移。大多数儿童期癌症表现出侵袭性，需要立即治疗，通常需要长时间的密集多药化疗。因此，对于成年癌症的成年人，可以根据具体情况考虑推迟治疗。提示随着时间的推移，随着病例数量的增加，免疫抑制患者容易受到感染。大多数儿童期癌症表现出侵袭性，需要立即治疗，通常需要长时间的密集多药化疗。因此，对于成年癌症的成年人，可以根据具体情况考虑推迟治疗。提示随着时间的推移，随着病例数量的增加，免疫抑制患者容易受到感染。大多数儿童期癌症表现出侵袭性，需要立即治疗，通常需要长时间的密集多药化疗。因此，对于成年癌症的成年人，可以根据具体情况考虑推迟治疗。