Abstract

MELENDI, Santiago E. et al. COVID-19 infection in cancer patients and association with the antineoplastic treatment. Medicina (B. Aires) [online]. 2022, vol.82, n.3, pp.338-343. ISSN 0025-7680.

Evidence linking anticancer therapy with the incidence of COVID-19 varies according to the type of therapy administered. The reported COVID-19 incidence in patients receiving antineoplastic treatment varies between 1 and 4%. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of COVID-19 in cancer patients under active treatment and to assess whether there is an association with the received anticancer therapy. It was a retrospective cohort that consecutively included adult outpatients who underwent treatment in a referral center from March 2020 to April 2021. The primary endpoint was the confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. The association with anticancer treatments was evaluated using multivariate logistic regression adjusting for age, sex, tumor site, health coverage status, and place of residence. The sample included 463 patients, the median age was 58 years (IQR = 47-66), 73.3% (n = 337) were women. The incidence of COVID-19 was 5.6% (n = 26) with a mortality rate of 12% (n = 3). The risk of infection was higher in patients undergoing treatment only with monoclonal antibod ies, 14.3% vs. 4.9% (adjusted OR = 3.3, p = 0.03) and those in treatment with immunotherapy, 23.1% vs. 5.1% (adjusted OR = 5.8, p = 0.03). Cytotoxic chemotherapy, alone or in combination with monoclonal antibodies, did not present an increased risk of infection. Age, sex, tumor site, health coverage, and place of residence did not show association with the incidence of COVID-19. Based on our results, treatment with monoclonal antibodies or immunotherapy was associated with a higher rate of COVID-19 infection while chemotherapy did not modify the incidence of COVID-19.

Keywords : Coronavirus infections; Outpatients; Antineoplastic agents; Chemotherapy; Immunotherapy.

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