Autopsy findings in cancer patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 show a milder presentation of COVID-19 compared to non-cancer patients

Abstract

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, manifests with differing severity across distinct patient subgroups, with outcomes influenced by underlying comorbidities such as cancer, which may cause functional and compositional alterations of the immune system during tumor progression. We aimed to investigate the association of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its complications with cancer in a large autopsy series and the role of COVID-19 in the fatal sequence leading to death. A total of 2641 adult autopsies were investigated, 539 of these were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Among the total number of patients analyzed, 829 had active cancer. Overall, the cohort included 100 patients who simultaneously had cancer and SARS-CoV-2 infection. The course of COVID-19 was less severe in cancer patients, including a significantly lower incidence of viral and bacterial pneumonia, occurring more frequently as a contributory disease or coexisting morbidity, or as SARS-CoV-2 positivity without viral disease. SARS-CoV-2 positivity was more frequent among non-metastatic than metastatic cancer cases, and in specific tumor types including hematologic malignancies. COVID-19 was more frequently found to be directly involved in the fatal sequence in patients undergoing active anticancer therapy, but less frequently in perioperative status, suggesting that the underlying malignancy and consequent surgery are more important factors leading to death perioperatively than viral disease. The course of COVID-19 in cancer patients was milder and balanced during the pandemic. This may be due to relative immunosuppressed status, and the fact that even early/mild viral infections can easily upset their condition, leading to death from their underlying cancer or its complications.

Keywords: Autopsy; COVID-19; Cancer; Pathology; Pneumonia; SARS-CoV-2.

Fig. 1

Presence of viral pneumonia (a, b, c) and its bacterial overinfection (d, e, f) in SARS-CoV-2 infected cancer (red columns) and non-cancer (blue columns) patients

Fig. 2

Role of SARS-CoV-2 infection and cancer in the fatal sequence. Contribution of SARS-CoV-2 infection (a: in cancer, b: in non-cancer, c: in both cancer and non-cancer patients) and cancer (d: in SARS-CoV-2 infected, e: in non-infected, f: in both SARS-CoV-2 infected and non-infected patients) to the fatal sequence in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5 + waves