Table 1.
Characteristics of patients receiving chemotherapy as the first cancer treatment within 6 months of diagnosis, stratified by COVID-19 period (n = 51,653).
| Characteristics | Cancer Diagnosed in Pre-Pandemic (N = 45,807, 88.7%) |
Cancer Diagnosed in the Pandemic (N = 5846, 11.3%) |
Standardized Difference a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age at diagnosis (Mean ± SD) | 63.80 ± 14.27 | 63.46 ± 14.24 | 0.02 |
| Female | 24,066 (52.5%) | 3234 (55.3%) | 0.06 |
| Rural residents | 5591 (12.2%) | 779 (13.3%) | 0.03 |
| Immigrants | 6086 (13.3%) | 839 (14.4%) | 0.03 |
| Material deprivation quintile b | |||
| 1, least deprived | 9990 (21.8%) | 1258 (21.5%) | 0.01 |
| 2 | 9534 (20.8%) | 1275 (21.8%) | 0.02 |
| 3 | 8791 (19.2%) | 1191 (20.4%) | 0.03 |
| 4 | 8698 (19.0%) | 1052 (18.0%) | 0.03 |
| 5, most deprived | 8413 (18.4%) | 1022 (17.5%) | 0.02 |
| Region | |||
| Toronto | 3678 (8.0%) | 454 (7.8%) | 0.01 |
| Central | 13,514 (29.5%) | 1732 (29.6%) | 0 |
| East | 11,529 (25.2%) | 1510 (25.8%) | 0.02 |
| North | 3075 (6.7%) | 434 (7.4%) | 0.03 |
| West | 14,010 (30.6%) | 1716 (29.4%) | 0.03 |
| Comorbidity c | |||
| 0 | 5384 (11.8%) | 671 (11.5%) | 0.01 |
| 1 | 3546 (7.7%) | 435 (7.4%) | 0.01 |
| 2 | 2240 (4.9%) | 248 (4.2%) | 0.03 |
| 3+ | 2790 (6.1%) | 300 (5.1%) | 0.04 |
| No hospitalization | 31,847 (69.5%) | 4192 (71.7%) | 0.05 |
| Cancer type | |||
| Breast | 6682 (14.6%) | 1137 (19.4%) | 0.13 |
| Central nervous system | 172 (0.4%) | 23 (0.4%) | 0 |
| Cervical | 170 (0.4%) | 15 (0.3%) | 0.02 |
| Colorectal | 3,668 (8.0%) | 453 (7.7%) | 0.01 |
| Endocrine | 80 (0.2%) | 11 (0.2%) | 0 |
| Esophagus | 518 (1.1%) | 70 (1.2%) | 0.01 |
| Genitourinary | 766 (1.7%) | 104 (1.8%) | 0.01 |
| Gynecologic (excluding cervical) | 1760 (3.8%) | 225 (3.8%) | 0 |
| Head and neck | 522 (1.1%) | 80 (1.4%) | 0.02 |
| Hepato-pancreatic biliary | 3460 (7.6%) | 490 (8.4%) | 0.03 |
| Lung | 6222 (13.6%) | 761 (13.0%) | 0.02 |
| Lymphoma | 8293 (18.1%) | 899 (15.4%) | 0.07 |
| Prostate | 1447 (3.2%) | 193 (3.3%) | 0.01 |
| Sarcoma | 923 (2.0%) | 101 (1.7%) | 0.02 |
| Stomach | 1532 (3.3%) | 161 (2.8%) | 0.03 |
| Other | 9592 (20.9%) | 1123 (19.2%) | 0.04 |
a We used 0.1 to identify a statistically and clinically significant imbalance in the distribution of characteristics between the two groups of patients. There were missing data for rural living status (0.2%) and material deprivation status (0.8%) that did not differ between the two patient groups (both standardized differences < 0.01). These patients were excluded from the multivariable regression analysis. b We measured material deprivation using the Ontario Marginalization Index that considers the following neighborhood characteristics: population that is without a high school diploma, unemployed, or considered low-income, and households that are single-parent families, receiving government transfer payments, or living in dwellings that need major repair. c The Elixhauser comorbidity index was computed using a 5-year look-back window to capture records of hospitalization in administrative databases.