The Pediatric Oncology COVID-19 Case Report
Our aim was to describe and disseminate, in real-time, the evolving clinical course of children, adolescents, and young adults diagnosed with cancer and infected with COVID-19 so that we could help clinicians take care of children with cancer during the evolving pandemic. You can still find the data briefs we sent under the report and updates tab.
We are incredibly grateful for everyone who contributed to the registry; we had over 2400 patients submitted from over 100 US institutions. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It is amazing how the pediatric oncology community came together to support care of children with cancer during the pandemic.
We are working on using the amazing data the community submitted and the expertise we developed over the course of the pandemic to further standardize care for children with cancer during the COVID-19 era (With the support of St. Baldrick’s). As part of that process, we conducted a literature review of evidence for and against proposed guidelines for caring for children with cancer during COVID-19 era in late 2025/early2026. The panelists that helped us with the guidelines asked that we publish the evidence packet since it had such valuable information. Here it is. We hope you find it helpful.
The report also led to several publications, including the following:
Kahn AR, Davis SE, Caudill C, Martinez I, Brackett J, Sharma A, Schwalm C, Kebede A, Dickens DS, Richman J, Colace S, Bhatia S, Wolfson JA, Levine JM, Johnston EE. COVID-19 Infection in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Receiving Maintenance Therapy: Don’t Discount the Risk. Journal of Oncology Practice, 2024, 20(12):1655-1662.
Kahn AR, Schwalm C, Wolfson JA, Levine JM, Johnston EE. COVID-19 in Children with Cancer. Current Oncology Reports. 2022, 24(3):295-302.
Johnston EE, Martinez I, Davis ES, Caudill C, Richman J, Brackett J, Dickens DS, Kahn A, Schwalm C, Sharma A, Patel PA, Bhatia S, Levine J, Wolfson JA. SARS-CoV-2 in Childhood Cancer in 2020: A Disease of Disparities. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2021, 39(34): 3778-3788.
Martin SD, Davis ES, Boal LH, Araya B, Brackett J, Dickens D, Kahn A, Martinz I, Sharma A, Schwalm C, Aguayo-Hiraldo P, Bhatia S, Levine JM, Johnston EE^, Wolfson JA^.Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in the setting of childhood cancer: clinical features and risk factors. -Oncology. 2023 May 11; e230525.
Miozzo P, Fields JM, Dai C, Davis ES, Martinez I, Brackett J, Dickens DS, Kahn AR, Schwalm C, Sharma A, Mowbray C, HaDuong J, POCC Consortium, Richman J, Bhatia S, Levine JM, Wolfson JA, Johnston EE. COVID-19 Reinfection in Children With Cancer: Clinical Course and Risk Factors. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2026, 73(1): e32126.
Wolfson JA, Davis ES, Shah A, Martinez I, McCall D, Kothari P, Brackett J, Dickens DS, Kahn AR, Schwalm C, Sharma A, Richman J, Cuglievan B, POOCC Consortium, Bhatia S, Dai C, Levine JM, Johnston EE. Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer: the clinical course of COVID-19 infections. JNCI. 2024, 116(8): 1366–1373.
For more information or questions, contact: POCCReport@uabmc.edu
Emily Johnston, M.D., MS – University of Alabama at Birmingham
Jennifer Levine, M.D., MSW – Children’s National
Alissa Kahn M.D. – St. Joseph's University Medical Center
Archana Sharma, D.O. – Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Carla Schwalm, M.D. – Bronson Methodist Hospital
Julienne Brackett, M.D., MS – Baylor College of Medicine & Texas Children’s Hospital
Julie Wolfson, M.D., MSHS – University of Alabama at Birmingham
How to cite this website:
Johnston EE, Martinez I, Davis ES, Araya B, Richman J, Brackett J, Dickens D, Kahn A, Schwalm Sharma A, Bhatia S, Levine JM, Wolfson JA. The Pediatric Oncology COVID-19 Case (POCC) Report. April 29, 2020. Accessed [today's date]. https://www.uab.edu/medicine/icos/icos-research/the-pocc-report