Characteristics and Mortality of Patients With Cancer Diagnosed With SARS-CoV-2 in Northern Portugal

Background/Aim: Patients with cancer have been found to be at higher risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which may negatively affect their prognosis. This study aimed to compare sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, as well as mortality, between cancer patients with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Patients and Methods: Patients with tumors of the esophagus, stomach, colon and rectum, pancreas, lung, skin-melanoma, breast, cervix, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and leukemia diagnosed between March 2019 and March 2021, and followed at the Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (IPO-Porto) were identified. Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection between March 2020 and September 2021 were compared to patients without infection. Vital status was assessed up to March 2024. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate crude, age- and stage-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for mortality.

Results: During follow-up, one-third of patients who had SARS-CoV-2 died (vs. one-fourth), corresponding to an adjusted HR (95%CI) of 1.39 (1.03-1.88). Significantly higher adjusted HRs were observed for residents outside Porto’s Metropolitan Area (HR=1.94, 95%CI=1.22-3.09), patients with lung cancer (HR=2.02, 95%CI=1.12-3.66) and patients with surgery as the first cancer treatment received at IPO-Porto (HR=2.00, 95%CI=1.08-3.74).

Conclusion: Cancer patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection had higher mortality compared to those without infection, and specific subgroups of patients at higher risk were identified.