Gastrointestinal cancers, ACE-2/TMPRSS2 expression and susceptibility to COVID-19.

Shafiee, Sepehr; Cegolon, Luca; Khafaei, Mostafa; Gholami, Nasrin; Zhao, Shi; Khalesi, Nasrin; Moosavian, Hamidreza; Fathi, Saeid; Izadi, Morteza; Ghadian, Alireza; Javanbakht, Mohammad; Javanbakht, Amin; Akhavan-Sigari, Reza

Recent studies on the pathophysiology of COVID-19 are indicating that the Angiotensin convertase enzyme 2 (ACE-2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) can act as a major component in the fusion of SARS-Cov-2 with target cells. It has also been observed that the expression of ACE-2 and TMPRSS2 can be altered in malignancies. Shedding light on this matter could be crucial since the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with many gastrointestinal cancer screening programs. Herein we discuss the possibility of severe forms of COVID-19 in patients with gastrointestinal cancers due to the gastrointestinal entry route of SARS-CoV-2 into the human body. The disruption of cancer screening programs caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic could therefore have massive negative health impact on patients affected by gastrointestinal malignancies.

COVID-19; GASTROINTESTINAL cancer; COVID-19 pandemic; ANGIOTENSIN converting enzyme; SARS-CoV-2

Cancer Cell International, 2021, Vol 21, Issue 1, p1

1475-2867

Academic Journal

10.1186/s12935-021-02129-x