Abstract 1756P
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has meant a change in health care worldwide, and cancer patients are a particularly vulnerable population with their own clinical and therapeutic characteristics. Due to the lack of new evidence on what the best approach should be in the context of the current pandemic, it is essential to go further in the knowledge of the characteristics of this infection in cancer patients and its outcomes.
Methods
From March 1 to April 30, 2020, we collected and analysed data of 1202 cancer patients who were under active treatment or follow-up at the Medical Oncology Department of La Princesa Hospital and had a COVID-19 PCR test due to clinical symptoms (216 patients tested).
Results
We detected a total of 50 patients with positive PCR (a 4,1% of the total number of patients in the period analysed). The mean age at diagnosis of the infection was 69, 52% were women and 16% smokers. The most frequent diagnoses were breast cancer (28%), colon cancer (26%), and lung cancer (14%) (Figure 1). 60% were localized stages, 36% were undergoing chemotherapy and 8% with immunotherapy. Fourteen of the 50 infected patients died (28%), Thirty-seven patients (74%) required hospitalization, with a mean age of 73. Twenty patients received high-dose corticosteroids and four Tocilizumab. One patient was admitted to the ICU. Hospital mortality was 35.1%, being 57% male and with a mean age of 80. Three patients presented grade 3 neutropenia at diagnosis, none of whom died. Two hospitalized patients were diagnosed of acute pulmonary thromboembolism regarding to coronavirus infection.
Conclusions
The aggressiveness of COVID-19 infection in cancer patients is high. In our center we had an incidence of 4.1%, an admission rate of 74%, an overall mortality rate of 28%, and a hospital mortality rate of 35%. These figures are higher than those described in non-oncological population. Neutropenia did not seem to be a poor prognostic factor among infected patients in our series.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
Medical Oncology Department, La Princesa Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
N. Romero Laorden: Advisory/Consultancy: Astra Zeneca; Advisory/Consultancy: Sanofi; Advisory/Consultancy: Bayer; Advisory/Consultancy: Tesaro; Advisory/Consultancy: IPSEN; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: MSD; Research grant/Funding (institution), Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Janessen; Research grant/Funding (institution), Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Pfizer. B. Hernández: Advisory/Consultancy, Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony, Research grant/Funding (institution): Lilly; Pfizer; Roche; Boheringer Ingelheim; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony, Research grant/Funding (institution): Astra Zeneca. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.