Introduction We document our data on the course of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in cancer patients in an attempt to help optimize their management in India and globally. Material and Methods Between February 2020 and January 2021, participating oncologists from Pune (members of the Oncology Group of Pune) documented effect of COVID-19 infection in their cancer patients. Binomial logistic regression analysis as well as correlation analysis was done using Pearson Chi-square test to determine significance of clinical factors. Results A total of 29 oncologists from 20 hospitals contributed their data involving 147 cancer patients who developed COVID-19 infections. COVID-19 infection resulted in higher deaths (likelihood ratio of 4.4) amongst patients with hematological malignancies (12/44 = 27.2%) as compared with those with solid tumors (13/90 = 14.4%, p = 0.030). Patients with uncontrolled or progressive cancer (11/34 = 32.4%) when they got infected with COVID-19 had higher mortality as compared with patients whose cancer was under control (14/113 = 12.4%; p = 0.020). Complication of thromboembolic episodes (seen in eight patients; 5.4% cases) was associated with higher risk (25.6 times) of death (five-eighths; 62.5%) as compared with those who did not develop it (20/139;14.4%; p <0.001). Discussion Patients with cancer should be advised to take strict precautions to reduce the risk of being infected with COVID-19. They should also be given priority for COVID-19 vaccination. If infected with COVID-19, patients with hematological malignancy and uncontrolled cancer are at higher risk of morbidity and mortality. When they are being treated (OPD or inpatient basis), additional precautions are necessary to ensure their exposure to potential COVID-19 virus is minimized. If they get infected with COVID-19, they should be given aggressive treatment to prevent complications, especially thromboembolic episodes. If they develop any thromboembolic complication, their risk of dying are significantly higher, and management should be modified accordingly.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; complications; hematological malignancies; mortality; oncology; pandemic; risk; solid tumors; thromboembolism.
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