May 14, 2021

Comparison and Impact of COVID-19 for Patients with Cancer: A Survival Analysis of Fatality Rate Controlling for Age, Sex and Cancer Type

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

Keywords (Tags): clinical characteristics, risk factors

• A survival analysis of UK cancer patients (N=4,606) found that those with a SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis between March-October 2020 had a higher risk of death compared to patients without SARS-CoV-2. The risk of death within 21 days post SARS-CoV-2 detection was over 10-fold higher than among those without SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with melanoma, hematological malignancies, uterine cancer, and kidney cancer. In all cases, fatality rates were higher in older patients. The authors suggest that these results highlight the importance of screening and early treatment of COVID-19 among cancer patients, and the prioritization of cancer patients for COVID-19 vaccination.

Li et al. (May 12, 2021). Comparison and Impact of COVID-19 for Patients with Cancer: A Survival Analysis of Fatality Rate Controlling for Age, Sex and Cancer Type. BMJ Health & Care Informatics. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjhci-2021-100341