Background
The COVID-19 pandemic is a rapidly evolving crisis worldwide. Cancer patients represent a highly vulnerable group during this pandemic and are facing the most severe and critical consequences of this outbreak. This study aims to contribute to our existing knowledge on the clinical impact of this novel disease on cancer patients. In our local setting, there is currently no known published data on this topic.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective, single center, cohort study of 19 solid cancer patients with COVID-19 admitted in a tertiary hospital in Quezon City, Philippines from March to May 2020. Clinical characteristics, laboratory data and treatment histories were compared between patients with mild and severe outcomes.
Results
Median age was 69 (range 37-81), 63.2% were elderly (≥ 60 years), and 57.8% were female. The most common malignancies were breast (26.3%), lung (21%), and genitourinary cancer (10.5%), and majority had early stage cancer (63.2%). Fifteen patients (78.9%) had recent anti-cancer treatment within 2 weeks prior to admission, most commonly, cytotoxic (21.05%) and targeted therapy (21.05%). Among patients who developed severe outcomes, most had lung cancer, stage IV disease, recent anti-cancer treatment, and higher levels of inflammatory markers. Having nosocomial-acquired infection was associated with severe outcomes (p=0.004).
Conclusions
Patients with cancer have a high probability of severe illness and mortality when diagnosed with COVID-19. We found that those with recent anti-cancer treatment, particularly chemotherapy, have higher rates of severe complications; and that hospital-acquired infection is common among cancer patients and is associated with severe illness. Our study is limited by its small population, though our findings are consistent with other published studies. Cancer patients require urgent and special attention during the pandemic, especially those who are receiving anti-cancer treatment.