2166P - Long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cancer patients

Background

Long COVID is defined as the continuation of symptoms, unexplainable by alternative diagnosis, longer than four weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Several studies report fatigue as the most common symptom, followed by dyspnoea, headache and myalgia. Although it is assumed that long COVID affects 10-20% of SARS-CoV-2 infected people, recent research suggests this number increases up to 60% in cancer patients. This study uncovers how long COVID is manifested in cancer patients and whether the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the quality of life (QoL) in this cohort.

Methods

A group of 96 cancer patients was followed from March 2022 till March 2023. Online questionnaires assessing symptoms associated with long COVID, anxiety and depression (HADS), quality of life (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and cognitive functioning (CFQ) were send every three months during this period. A semi-structured focus group was organised for qualitative data collection.

Results

Forty nine cancer patients (51.0%) were infected with SARS-CoV-2 over the course of the study, of which 39 (79.6%) reported persisting long COVID symptoms that were absent before infection. The most commonly reported symptoms were myalgia (46.2%), fatigue (38.5%) and disturbed sleep (35.9%). On top of this, 25.6% of the patients reported difficulty concentrating, headaches and dyspnoea, as described in other studies. Although the presence of myasthenia and persisting cough are not frequently linked to long COVID, they were frequently reported (25.6%) within our study population. We observed that the presence of long COVID symptoms is associated with increased BMI and the presence of comorbidities. Oncological patients reported a negative impact of the enforced COVID-19 restrictions on their emotional and psychological wellbeing. Independent of patients’ infection status, female sex and metastatic cancer are associated with reduced QoL during the pandemic.

Conclusions

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the QoL of cancer patients, even when patients did not suffer from long COVID. While cancer patients experience similar long COVID symptoms as healthy controls, the prevalence is remarkably higher. Long COVID might be more prevalent in cancer patients because of their compromised immune system and weakened physiological reserve.

Clinical trial identification

BUN B3002021000186; Release date 08/11/2021.

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.