Clinical Characteristics of Cancer Patients With COVID-19: A Retrospective Multicentric Study in 19 Hospitals Within Hubei, China (Frontiers in Medicine)

Objective: This study aimed to determine the association between prognosis of COVID-19 patients with and without cancer. Moreover, we compared the prognosis of cancer patients subjected to anti-tumor therapy with those who have not undergone anti-tumor therapy in the past 6 months.Methods and Results: A total of 7,926 adult patients with COVID-19 were retrospectively enrolled in Hubei Province,China between December 31, 2019 and February 20, 2020. Two hundred and seventy seven cancer patients (cancer group, median age 64 [IQR 56–70] years; 50.90% male) and 7,649 non-cancer patients were identified (non-cancer group, median age 55 [IQR 42–64] years; 48.19% male). The mortality rate was lower in the non-cancer group compared to the cancer group (4.50 vs. 9.03%; P < 0.001). The duration between onset and admission shorter in the cancer group (Days, 9 [IQR 5–18]) compared to the non-cancer group (Days, 10; [IQR 6–19]; P = 0.036). ICU occupancy was higher in the cancer group (n[%], 30[10.83%]) than in the non-cancer group (n[%], 314[4.11%]). In reviewing the anti-tumor therapy, data from 277 selected cancer patients were obtained out of which 74 patients had undergone anti-tumor therapy (mean age 65 [IQR 51–67] years; 45.95% male), 203 had not undergone anti-tumor therapy (non-anti-tumor therapy group, mean age 63 [IQR 53–75] years; 49.75% male) in the past 6 months. The mortality rate for the anti-tumor therapy group and the non-anti-tumor therapy group was similar (9.46 vs. 8.87%; P = 0.879).Conclusion: The mortality rate was higher in COVID-19 patients with cancer compared to those without cancer. Moreover, anti-tumor therapy in the past 6 months did not worsen the prognosis of cancer patients with COVID-19.