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Eur J Cancer
. 2022 Apr 26;170:10-16.
doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2022.03.019. Online ahead of print.
Persistence of long-term COVID-19 sequelae in patients with cancer: An analysis from the OnCovid registry
Alessio Cortellini 1 , Ramon Salazar 2 , Alessandra Gennari 3 , Juan Aguilar-Company 4 , Mark Bower 5 , Alexia Bertuzzi 6 , Joan Brunet 7 , Matteo Lambertini 8 , Clara Maluquer 9 , Paolo Pedrazzoli 10 , Alvin Jx Lee 11 , MCarmen Carmona-García 7 , Thomas Newsom-Davis 5 , Mieke Van Hemelrijck 12 , Andrea Plaja 13 , Alberto Zambelli 14 , Carlo Tondini 14 , Daniele Generali 15 , Rossella Bertulli 16 , Nikolaos Diamantis 17 , Uma Mukherjee 17 , Gianpiero Rizzo 18 , Tamara Yu 11 , Federica Zoratto 19 , Riccardo Bruna 20 , Anna Sureda 21 , Clara Martinez-Vila 9 , Luca Cantini 22 , Francesca Mazzoni 23 , Federica Grosso 24 , Alessandro Parisi 25 , Maristella Saponara 26 , Aleix Prat 27 , David J Pinato 28 , On Covid study group
Affiliations
- PMID: 35576848
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2022.03.019
Abstract
Introduction: A significant proportion of patients with cancer who recover from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) may experience COVID-19 sequelae in the early post-infection phase, which negatively affect their continuity of care and oncological outcome. The long-term prevalence and clinical impact of the post-COVID-19 syndrome in patients with cancer are largely unknown.
Methods: In this study, we describe the time course of COVID-19 sequelae in patients with non-advanced cancers enrolled in the OnCovid registry.
Results: Overall, 186 patients were included, with a median observation period of 9.9 months (95%CI:8,8-11.3) post-COVID-19 resolution. After a median interval of 2.3 months post-COVID-19 (interquartile range: 1.4-3.7), 31 patients (16.6%) reported ≥1 sequelae, including respiratory complications (14, 7.6%), fatigue (13, 7.1%), neuro-cognitive sequelae (7, 3.8%). The vast majority of the patients were not vaccinated prior to COVID-19. COVID-19-related sequelae persisted in 9.8% and 8% of patients 6 and 12 months after COVID-19 resolution. Persistence of sequelae at first oncological follow-up was associated with history of complicated COVID-19 (45.2% vs 24.8%, p = 0.0223), irrespective of oncological features at COVID-19 diagnosis.
Conclusion: This study confirms for the first time that, in a largely unvaccinated population, post-COVID-19 syndrome can affect a significant proportion of patients with non-advanced cancer who recovered from the acute illness. COVID-19 sequelae may persist up to 12 months in some patients, highlighting the need for dedicated prevention and supportive strategies.
Keywords: COVID-19; Long-term; Outcome; SARS-CoV-2; Sequelae.