CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS WITH SARS-COV-2 INFECTION AND HISTORY OF CANCER

Background

Patients with cancer may have increased mortality with COVID-19. The cardiovascular (CV) complications of COVID-19 in cancer patients have not been described. We examined CV outcomes and all-cause mortality among hospitalized patients with cancer and COVID-19.

Methods

The Brigham and Women’s COVID-19 Registry prospectively enrolled 500 hospitalized patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from March-May 2020. Adjudicated outcomes included all-cause mortality, CV events (acute coronary syndrome, myocarditis, arrhythmias, new heart failure), cardiac injury (troponin >99^th percentile), and venous thromboembolism (VTE), during the index hospitalization. Regression and survival analyses were used to examine associations between cancer status and outcomes.

Results

In our study cohort, 101 patients had cancer (50% active cancer, 83% solid, 19% hematologic). Cancer patients were significantly older, had lower body mass index, had higher baseline prevalence of heart failure, stroke, chronic kidney disease/dialysis and smoking, and were more likely to be on baseline anticoagulation than those without cancer. Adjusted analyses showed no independent association between cancer and all-cause mortality, CV outcomes or VTE (all p>0.05, Table).

Conclusion

A history of cancer is not independently associated with mortality or short-term adverse CV outcomes among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Longer term CV outcomes of COVID-19 in cancer patients need further evaluation.