ABSTRACT
Background: These are the final results of a national registry on COVID-19 in cancer patients in Switzerland. Methods: We collected data on 501 symptomatic COVID-19 infected cancer patients from 23 Swiss sites, starting March 1, 2020. The main objective of the study was to assess the outcome of COVID-19 infection in cancer patients, the main secondary objective was to define prognostic factors. Results: With a cutoff date of March 15, 2021 and exclusion of 46 patients who refused consent, 455 patients were included into the final analysis. Most frequent malignancies were breast in 63 cases (14%) and lung in 47 (10%). Systemic treatment within 3 months prior to COVID-19 diagnosis included chemotherapy in 101 cases (23%), targeted therapy in 94 (21%), steroids in 78 (17%) and checkpoint inhibitors in 34 (8%). 285 patients (63%) were hospitalized for COVID-19, 213 (47%) required oxygen, 43 (9%) invasive ventilation, 62 (14%) were admitted to the ICU. Death from COVID-19 infection occurred in 98 patients, resulting in a mortality rate of 21.5%. Age ≥65 versus <65 (OR 3.35, p = 0.001), non-curative versus curative disease (OR 2.21, p = 0.021), ICU admission (OR 4.53, p <0.001) and oxygen requirement (OR 23.25, p <0.001) were independently associated with increased mortality. Conclusions: We found a high COVID-19 mortality rate of 21.5% in real-world cancer patients for the first wave of the pandemic. The rate of hospitalization and ICU admission for COVID-19 in cancer patients is substantial.