cancer has an independent association with death in hospitalized patients with covid-19: a single-center study in iran

Background: covid-19 could cause severe complications in those with pre-existing conditions such as cancer. here, we aimed to assess the outcome of covid-19 in hospitalized patients with a history of cancer. methods: in this retrospective cohort study, we extracted medical records of patients with any cancer history among hospitalized patients with covid-19. our patients were admitted between february 20th and july 15th, 2020. the primary outcome was death, and the secondary outcomes were overall survival, covid-19-specific mortality, admission to intensive care unit (icu), and hospital stay. a group of individuals without cancer history was selected from the covid- 19 cohort and matched for age, gender, and pre-existing conditions. we utilized univariate and multivariate logistic regression to analyze the association between studied variables and primary outcomes. results: we identified 46 patients with cancer and covid-19. the median age was 63, and 54.3% were male. according to the univariate logistic regression analysis, death was 5.3 (ci95%: 1.75-15.85) times more probable in cancer patients than controls (p=0.003). the multivariate analysis adjusted for having cancer and sex, age, and having any comorbidity showing this figure was 5.5 (ci95%:1.8-16.8) (p=0.003). the 30- and 90-day covid-19 specific mortality was 30% (ci95%:17-43) and 33% (ci95%: 20-46), respectively. conclusion: patients with covid-19 with a history of cancer have a considerably higher risk of death irrespective of age, gender, and other pre-existing conditions. patients with advanced cancers and concurrent bacterial infections need the most vigorous care.