PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Thilo Gambichler AU - Judith Reuther AU - Christina H Scheel AU - Jürgen Christian Becker TI - On the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with viral infections including COVID-19 AID - 10.1136/jitc-2020-001145 DP - 2020 Jul 01 TA - Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer PG - e001145 VI - 8 IP - 2 4099 - http://jitc.bmj.com/content/8/2/e001145.short 4100 - http://jitc.bmj.com/content/8/2/e001145.full SO - J Immunother Cancer2020 Jul 01; 8 AB - The present review summarizes up-to-date evidence addressing the frequently discussed clinical controversies regarding the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer patients with viral infections, including AIDS, hepatitis B and C, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, influenza, and COVID-19. In detail, we provide available information on (1) safety regarding the risk of new infections, (2) effects on the outcome of pre-existing infections, (3) whether immunosuppressive drugs used to treat ICI-related adverse events affect the risk of infection or virulence of pre-existing infections, (4) whether the use of vaccines in ICI-treated patients is considered safe, and (5) whether there are beneficial effects of ICIs that even qualify them as a therapeutic approach for these viral infections.