COVID-19 in Cancer Patients From New York City: A Comparative Single Center Retrospective Analysis

• Main Authors: Preethi Ramachandran MD, MRCP, FRCPath, Balachandar Kathirvelu MBBS, PhD, Abhishek Chakraborti MD, Mahesh Gajendran MD, MPH, FACP, Umar Zhahid MD, Snigdha Ghanta MD, Ifeanyichkwu Onukogu MD, Joshua Tetteh Narh MD, Jen C. Wang MD, Faiz Anwer MD, FACP
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2020-10-01
• Series: Cancer Control
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/1073274820960457

In this retrospective study we analyze and compare clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with and without cancer history who were infected with novel coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). Medical records were reviewed and a comparative analysis of 53 cancer and 135 non-cancer patients with COVID-19 were summarized. Results: The median age for COVID-19 patients with and without cancer was 71.5 and 61.6 years, respectively. Patients aged 60 years and above were 86.8% and 60.7% in cancer and non-cancer groups, respectively. A high proportion of cases were seen in African Americans 73.6% (with cancer) and 75.6% (without cancer) followed by Hispanic patients. Male and female patients had a high percentage of prostate (39.3%) and breast (32%) cancer respectively. Prostate cancer (18.9%) and myeloma (11.3%) were common among solid and hematological cancers respectively. Hypertension and smoking were prevalent among cancer (83% and 41.5%) compared to non-cancer (67.4% and 9.6%) patients. The common symptoms in cancer patients were dyspnea (64.2%) followed by fever and cough (50.9%) compared to fever (68.1%) and cough (66.7%) in non-cancer patients. Cancer patients had higher levels of lactic acidosis, C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, and alkaline phosphatase than non-cancer patients (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Rapid clinical deterioration was seen in cancer patients who were aged 60 years and above. Higher mortality was seen in this subgroup, especially when they had associated hypertension and elevated levels of CRP and LDH.