Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19 in 1294 New Cancer Patients: Single-Center, Prospective Cohort Study from Iran.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 in a large cohort of new cancer patients referred to an oncology clinic in the north of Iran. METHODS: During the 20-month COVID-19 pandemic, new cancer patients were followed-up. Demographic, pathologic, and clinical variables were collected for each patient. COVID-19 was confirmed based on a positive polymerase chain reaction test. Analyses were performed using the STATA version 14.0 at a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: In this study, 1294 new cancer patients were followed for 24 months (mean age: 58.7 years [range 10-95]). During the study period, COVID-19 was diagnosed in 9.4% of the patients with hospitalization rate of 3.4%, an ICU admission rate of 0.7%, and COVID-19 mortality rate of 4.9%. Hematological malignancies (ORU= 2.6, CI95% 1.28-5.34), receiving palliative treatments (ORA=3.03, CI95% 1.6-5.45) and receiving radiotherapy (ORA=2.07, 1.17-3.65) were the most common predictive factors of COVID infection in cancer patients. Also, the COVID mortality was higher in brain cancer patients (p = 0.07), metastatic disease (p = 0.01) and patients receiving palliative treatments (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: In patients suffering from cancer, COVID-19 infection can be predicted by cancer type, palliative care, and radiotherapy in cancer patients. Furthermore, brain cancers, metastasis, and palliative care were all associated with COVID-19-related mortality.

COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients With Malignancy; A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy and Safety.

Background: Data on the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with malignancy are immature. In this paper, we assessed the literature involving the use of COVID-19 vaccines in cancer patients and reported the seroconversion rates as the main outcome and severity of COVID-19 infection and side effects following COVID-19 vaccination as the secondary outcomes. Methods: A systematic review with meta-analysis was performed. Searches were conducted in electronic websites, databases, and journals, including Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from January 01, 2019, to November 30, 2021. Studies reporting data on the safety and efficacy of COVID vaccine in cancer patients using any human samples were included. The risk of bias was assessed using the NEWCASTLE-OTTAWA scale in the included studies. Results: A total of 724 articles were identified from databases, out of which 201 articles were duplicates and were discarded. Subsequently, 454 articles were excluded through initial screening of the titles and abstracts. Moreover, 41 studies did not report the precise seroconversion rate either based on the type of cancer or after injection of a second dose of COVID vaccine. Finally, 28 articles met all the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review. The overall seroconversion rates after receiving a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, based on type of cancer were 88% (95% CI, 81%-92%) and 70% (95% CI, 60%-79%) in patients with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, respectively. Conclusion: Overall, we conclude that vaccination against COVID-19 in patients with active malignancies using activated and inactivated vaccines is a safe and tolerable procedure that is also accompanied by a high efficacy.

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike IgG following injection of the third dose vaccine: A systematic review with meta-analysis of heterologous versus homologous vaccination.

Background: The mass vaccination is a key strategy to prevent and control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Today, several different types of vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been developed worldwide. These vaccines are usually administered in a two-dose schedule, and the third dose is currently being administered in most countries. This study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze the immunogenicity of heterologous vs. homologous vaccination after administration of the third dose of COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: Electronic databases and websites including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google scholar were searched for relevant randomized clinical trial (RCT) studies. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of three RCTs were included in the study. These RCTs were included 2,613 healthy adults (18 years or older and without a history of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19) with 15 heterologous and five homologous prime-boost vaccination regimens. Anti-SARS-CoV-2-spike IgG levels at day 28 after administration of the third dose, were compared between the heterologous and homologous regimens. Results: The highest antibody responses had been reported for the homologous vaccination regimen of m1273/m1273/m1273 (Moderna), followed by the heterologous regimen of BNT/BNT/m1273. In addition, the immunogenicity of viral vector and inactivated vaccines was remarkably enhanced when they had been boosted by a heterologous vaccine, especially mRNA vaccines. Conclusion: This systematic review suggests that mRNA vaccines in a homologous regimen induce strong antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 compared to other vaccine platforms. In contrast, viral vector and inactivated vaccines show a satisfactory immunogenicity in a heterologous regimen, especially in combination with mRNA vaccines.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Number of Adjuvant Temozolomide Cycles in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma.

BACKGROUND: In newly diagnosed glioblastoma, radiation with concurrent and adjuvant (six cycles) temozolomide (TMZ) is the established standard of postsurgical care. However, the benefit of extending adjuvant TMZ therapy beyond six cycles has remained unknown. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase up to October 1, 2021. The search keywords were "glioblastoma," "adjuvant chemotherapy," and their synonyms. The data of randomized clinical trials were extracted and included in this meta-analysis if they had reported patients' median overall survival (OS) or median progression-free survival (PFS). The standard and extended chemotherapy regimens were considered as adjuvant TMZ up to six cycles and beyond six cycles (up to a total of 12 cycles), respectively. The median OS and median PFS were pooled and compared. RESULTS: Four studies consisting of 882 patients (461 patients for the standard chemotherapy group and 421 patients for the extended chemotherapy group) were included in this meta-analysis. The extended TMZ regimen was associated with a nonsignificant improvement in PFS [12.0 months (95% CI 9.0 to 15.0) vs. 10.0 months (95% CI 7.0 to 12.0), P = 0.27] without corresponding improvement in OS [23.0 months (95% CI 19.0 to 27.0) and 24.0 months (95% CI 20.0 to 28.0), P = 0.73]. CONCLUSIONS: In newly diagnosed glioblastoma, continuing adjuvant TMZ beyond six cycles did not shown an increase neither in PFS nor OS.

Factors predicting readmission in patients with COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 has been introduced by the World Health Organization as a health emergency worldwide. Up to 9% of the patients with COVID-19 may be readmitted by 2 months after discharge. This study aimed to estimate the readmission rate and identify main risk factors for readmission in these patients. In this prospective study, 416 discharged COVID patients followed up with a minimum 1 month and the readmission rate was recorded. Evaluated characteristics included time of readmission, age and sex, main symptoms of disease, result of computed tomography scan, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test and treatment modalities. RESULTS: Regarding readmission, 51 patients of 416 discharged patients, was readmitted during the study period. The rate of readmission for 30 and 60 days after discharge was 7.6% and 8.1%, respectively. The median age of the readmitted patients was 67 years (IQR: 53-78). About 65% of readmitted patients had underlying disease. The most significant factor in readmission rate was related to the site of lung involvement (OR > 4). Age over 60 years, underlying disease especially diabetes (OR = 3.43), high creatinine level (≥ to 1.2 mg/dl) (OR = 2.15) were the most important predictors of readmission.