Objectives: Herein, we aimed to contribute to the literature on our single-center experience of the course and consequence of COVID-19 infection on cancer patients, presenting the demographic characteristics, clinical course, mortality rates, and the laboratory parameters of cancer patients infected with COVID-19. Methods: Demographic and clinical characteristics, non-cancerous comorbid diseases, treatment modalities for cancer and COVID-19 infection, laboratory tests including blood counts and serum biochemistry, inflammatory markers, and thoracic CT scans were evaluated. Results: A total of thirty-eight patients infected with COVID-19 confirmed with a positive nasopharyngeal swab polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were identified, and their data were included in the final analysis. The mortality rate due to COVID-19 infection was 26.3%. All deaths were observed in metastatic patients. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was higher in cancer patients with COVID-19 mortality (p=0.0003). C-reactive protein (CRP) and d-dimer values were higher in cancer patients who died due to COVID-19 as well (p=0.04 and 0.018, respectively). Of cancer patients infected with COVID-19, 57.9% had delays in cancer treatment and 73.7% had delays in follow-up appointments. The median delay time was 25 days (range: 7-63 days). Cancer progression was observed in 7.9% of patients due to delays in follow-up appointments caused by COVID-19 infection. Conclusion: Both COVID-19 and cancer are severe life-threatening diseases, and mortality rates are much higher in cancer patients. Metastatic disease and increased inflammatory markers are associated with COVID-19 associated mortality in cancer patients. Additionally, COVID-19 infection results in delays in treatment and follow-up of cancer patients. This also resulted in disease progression. Further studies are needed to identify the best treatment modalities for the atrisk cancer patient population and reduce delays in treatment and follow-up of cancer patients infected with COVID-19. Keywords: Cancer, Coronavirus disease-2019, COVID-19, mortality, respiratory syndrome, symptoms
Corresponding Author: Gokhan Karakaya