Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May;124(11):1777-1784.
doi: 10.1038/s41416-021-01324-x. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

COVID-19 and cancer registries: learning from the first peak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Alvin J X Lee  1 , Karin Purshouse  2
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 and cancer registries: learning from the first peak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Alvin J X Lee et al. Br J Cancer. 2021 May.

Abstract

The SARS-Cov-2 pandemic in 2020 has caused oncology teams around the world to adapt their practice in the aim of protecting patients. Early evidence from China indicated that patients with cancer, and particularly those who had recently received chemotherapy or surgery, were at increased risk of adverse outcomes following SARS-Cov-2 infection. Many registries of cancer patients infected with SARS-Cov-2 emerged during the first wave. We collate the evidence from these national and international studies and focus on the risk factors for patients with solid cancers and the contribution of systemic anti-cancer treatments (SACT-chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted and hormone therapy) to outcomes following SARS-Cov-2 infection. Patients with cancer infected with SARS-Cov-2 have a higher probability of death compared with patients without cancer. Common risk factors for mortality following COVID-19 include age, male sex, smoking history, number of comorbidities and poor performance status. Oncological features that may predict for worse outcomes include tumour stage, disease trajectory and lung cancer. Most studies did not identify an association between SACT and adverse outcomes. Recent data suggest that the timing of receipt of SACT may be associated with risk of mortality. Ongoing recruitment to these registries will enable us to provide evidence-based care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

K.P. and A.J.X.L. are members of the project management group of the UKCCMP. A.J.X.L. has contributed to the OnCovid study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Timeline of establishment of COVID-19 and cancer registries, and significant COVID-19 and cancer events.
Figure created with BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cooksley CD, Avritscher EBC, Bekele BN, Rolston KV, Geraci JM, Elting LS. Epidemiology and outcomes of serious influenza-related infections in the cancer population. Cancer. 2005;104:618–628. doi: 10.1002/cncr.21203. - DOI - PubMed
    1. de Wit E, van Doremalen N, Falzarano D, Munster VJ. SARS and MERS: recent insights into emerging coronaviruses. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 2016;14:523–534. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro.2016.81. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Overview | COVID-19 rapid guideline: delivery of systemic anticancer treatments | Guidance | NICE. (2020). - PubMed
    1. Liang W, Guan W, Chen R, Wang W, Li J, Xu K, et al. Cancer patients in SARS-CoV-2 infection: a nationwide analysis in China. Lancet Oncol. 2020;21:335–337. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30096-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhang L, Zhu F, Xie L, Wang C, Wang J, Chen R, et al. Clinical characteristics of COVID-19-infected cancer patients: a retrospective case study in three hospitals within Wuhan, China. Ann. Oncol. 2020 doi: 10.1016/j.annonc.2020.03.296. - DOI - PMC - PubMed