October 9, 2020

Prevalence and Outcome of COVID-19 Infection in Cancer Patients: A National Veterans Affairs Study

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

Keywords (Tags): clinical characteristics

• The pre-existence of cancer may affects both susceptibility to COVID-19 infection and outcomes, according to an analysis of healthcare records from the US Veterans Affairs healthcare system. The overall COVID-19 attributable mortality in patients with cancer was 10%, which was higher with older age, a higher Charlson comorbidity score, and certain types of cancer. The analysis found that recent or past cancer treatment did not impact attributable mortality. Additionally, while Black patients had 3.5-fold higher COVID-19 attributable hospitalization, they had similar attributable mortality to that of white patients.

Fillmore et al. (Oct 8, 2020). Prevalence and Outcome of COVID-19 Infection in Cancer Patients: A National Veterans Affairs Study. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djaa159