Association of active oncologic treatment and risk of death in cancer patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of patient data.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients suffer from worse coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outcomes. Whether active oncologic treatment is an additional risk factor in this population remains unclear. Therefore, here we have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the existing evidence for the effect of active oncologic treatment on COVID-19 outcomes. METHODS: Systematic search of databases (PubMed, Embase) was conducted for studies published from inception to July 1, 2020, with a subsequent search update conducted on 10 October 2020. In addition, abstracts and presentations from major conference proceedings (ASCO, ESMO, AACR) as well as pre-print databases (medxriv, bioxriv) were searched. Retrospective and prospective studies reporting clinical outcomes in cancer patients with laboratory confirmation or clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 and details of active or recent oncologic treatment were selected. Random-effects model was applied throughout meta-analyses. Summary outcome measure was the pooled odds ratio (OR) of death for active cancer therapy versus no active cancer therapy for each of the following modalities recent surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or chemoimmunotherapy. RESULTS: Sixteen retrospective and prospective studies (3558 patients) were included in the meta-analysis. Active chemotherapy was associated with higher risk of death compared to no active chemotherapy (OR, 1.60, 95% CI, 1.14-2.23). No significant association with risk of death was identified for active targeted therapy, immunotherapy, chemoimmunotherapy, or recent surgery. Meta-analysis of multivariate adjusted OR of death for active chemotherapy was consistently associated with higher risk of death compared to no active chemotherapy (OR, 1.42, 95% CI, 1.01-2.01). CONCLUSIONS: Active chemotherapy appears to be associated with higher risk of death in cancer patients with COVID-19. Further research is necessary to characterize the complex interactions between active cancer treatment and COVID-19.