Prevalence and impact of COVID-19 sequelae on treatment pathways and survival of cancer patients who recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection

ABSTRACT

Background: The long-term impact of COVID-19 in cancer patients (pts) is undefined. Methods: Among 2795 consecutive pts with COVID-19 and cancer registered to OnCovid between 01/2020 and 02/2021, we examined clinical outcomes of pts reassessed post COVID-19 recovery. Results: Among 1557 COVID-19 survivors, 234 (15%) reported sequelae including respiratory symptoms (49.6%), fatigue (41%) and cognitive/psychological dysfunction (4.3%). Persisting COVID-19 sequelae were more likely found in males (p=0.0407) aged ≥65 years (p=0.0489) with ≥2 comorbidities (p=0.0006) and positive smoking history (p=0.0004). Sequelae were associated with history of prior hospitalisation (p<0.0001), complicated disease (p<0.0001) and COVID-19 therapy (p=0.0002). With a median post-COVID-19 follow up of 128 days (95%CI 113-148), multivariable analysis of survival revealed COVID-19 sequelae to be associated with an increased risk of death (HR 1.76, 95%CI 1.16-2.66) after adjusting for sex, age, comorbidities, tumour characteristics, anticancer therapy and COVID-19 severity. Out of 473 patients who were on systemic anticancer therapy (SACT) at COVID-19 diagnosis;62 (13.1%) permanently discontinued therapy and 75 (15.8%) received SACT adjustments, respectively. Discontinuations were due to worsening performance status (45.1%), disease progression (16.1%) and residual organ disfunction (6.3%). SACT adjustments were pursued to avoid hospital attendance (40%), prevent immunosuppression (57.3%) or adverse events (20.3%). Multivariable analyses showed permanent discontinuation to be associated with an increased risk of death (HR 4.2, 95%CI 1.62-10.7), whereas SACT adjustments did not adversely affect survival. Conclusions: Sequelae post-COVID-19 affect up to 15% of patients with cancer and adversely influence survival and oncological outcomes after recovery. SACT adjustments can be safely pursued to preserve oncological outcomes in patients who remain eligible to treatment. Clinical trial identification NCT04393974. Legal entity responsible for the study Imperial College London. Funding: Has not received any funding. Disclosure A. Cortellini Financial Interests, Personal, Advisory Board MSD;Financial Interests, Personal, Advisory Board BMS;Financial Interests, Personal, Advisory Board Roche;Financial Interests, Personal, Invited Speaker Novartis;Financial Interests, Personal, Invited Speaker AstraZeneca;Financial Interests, Personal, Invited Speaker Astellas;Financial Interests, Personal, Advisory Board Sun Pharma. D.J. Pinato Financial Interests, Personal, Advisory Board ViiV Healthcare;Financial Interests, Personal, Invited Speaker Bayer;Financial Interests, Personal, Advisory Board Eisai;Financial Interests, Personal, Invited Speaker Roche;Financial Interests, Personal, Invited Speaker AstraZeneca. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.