1718P - A French experience on COVID-19 and cancer from an academic general hospital in Paris area

Background

Cancer is considered as a crucial risk factor for adverse outcomes from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is currently few data available about the impact of the virus on patients (pts) treated for cancer, mainly coming from Comprehensive Cancer Centres. In April 2020, the Italian Medical Council reported an analysis on 909 pts who died from COVID-19, of whom 16.5% had cancer. Recently, Gustave Roussy Institute in Paris published a series of 137 cancer patients presenting COVID-19. Here, we report our experience in Foch Hospital in Paris, an academic general hospital located in one of the two main epicentres of the epidemic in France.

Methods

We analysed the totality of pts diagnosed with COVID-19 in our hospital including the emergency unit, as well as the pts currently treated for cancer in our two Medical Oncology and Pulmonology departments.

Results

We identified 49 pts presenting COVID-19 from March 2^nd until May 11^th 2020. All of them were receiving standard medical treatment and care for cancer, in curative and palliative settings. Median age was 68 years. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status was respectively: 0-1 (67%), 2-3 (31%), 4(2%). Twenty-two percent of pts were in curative situation and 78% in palliative situation. Twenty-one (43%), 12 (25%), 8 (16%) and 3 (6%) pts had a lung, genitourinary, gastro-intestinal and head and neck cancer respectively. Moreover, 2 (4%), 2 (4%) and 1 (2%) pts had a breast, gynaecological and mesothelioma cancer respectively. Six percent of pts presented severe disease needing treatment in intensive care unit. Global mortality rate was 22%. Eight percent of our pts were receiving immunotherapy, and none of these presented a serious clinical presentation. At the hospital level, cancer patients represented 7.8% of the subjects with a diagnosis of COVID-19, 5% of patients hospitalized, and 3% of patients in intensive care unit. Thirteen percent of patients who died had a cancer.

Conclusions

COVID-19 greatly impacted old and fragile patients. The results of our cohort are comparable to the data reported in a Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Paris area. It is also remarkable that pts treated with immunotherapy seem to present a less severe disease, without any patient needing intensive care.

Clinical trial identification

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.