Persistence of long-term COVID-19 sequelae in patients with cancer: An analysis from the OnCovid registry.

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.

• Authors: Alessio Cortellini, Ramon Salazar, Alessandra Gennari, Juan Aguilar-Company, Mark Bower, Alexia Bertuzzi, Joan Brunet, Matteo Lambertini, Clara Maluquer, Paolo Pedrazzoli, Alvin Jx Lee, MCarmen Carmona-García, Thomas Newsom-Davis, Mieke Van Hemelrijck, Andrea Plaja, Alberto Zambelli, Carlo Tondini, Daniele Generali, Rossella Bertulli, Nikolaos Diamantis, Uma Mukherjee, Gianpiero Rizzo, Tamara Yu, Federica Zoratto, Riccardo Bruna, Anna Sureda, Clara Martinez-Vila, Luca Cantini, Francesca Mazzoni, Federica Grosso, Alessandro Parisi, Maristella Saponara, Aleix Prat, David J Pinato, On Covid study group
• Journal: European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990) (Eur J Cancer) Vol. 170 Pg. 10-16 (07 2022) ISSN: 1879-0852 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 35576848 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Topics

• COVID-19 (complications, epidemiology)
• COVID-19 Testing
• Disease Progression
• Humans
• Neoplasms (complications, epidemiology, therapy)
• Registries
• Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome