Detection of abnormal lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of COVID-19 cancer patients: diagnostic and prognostic possibility

Background Peripheral morphological abnormalities play important roles in the early diagnosis and prognosis of the COVID-19 infection. The aim of the present study was to assess the morphological alterations in the peripheral blood (PB) cells in patients with COVID-19 infection, with special attention to a different group of atypical lymphocytes that had been observed in the PB of COVID-19 cancer and non-cancer patients.Methods The PB cells were examined in 84 COVID-19 positive cancer patients, and 20 COVID-19 positive non-cancer patients, compared to 30 healthy normal controls. The data were correlated to the disease severity, patients’ clinicopathological features, and outcomes.Results There was an increased incidence of giant platelets, neutrophils shifting left, and abnormal monocytes in the COVID-19 positive cancer and non-cancer patients compared to the control group (P