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- Title
Impact of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors on COVID-19 Severity in Patients with Cancer.
- Authors
Tan, Ruoding; Yun, Cindy; Seetasith, Arpamas; Sheinson, Daniel; Walls, Robert; Ngwa, Innocent; Reddy, Josina C; Zhang, Qing; Secrest, Matthew H; Lambert, Peter; Sarsour, Khaled
- Abstract
Background Amid continued uncertainty about the management of cancer patients during the pandemic, this study sought to obtain real-world data on the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) before COVID-19 diagnosis and its association with severity and survival outcomes in cancer patients who contracted COVID-19. Methods Cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were identified from a large electronic health record database; those treated with ICIs before COVID-19+ diagnosis were matched in a 1:2 ratio to those not treated with ICIs, using a 2-step matching procedure. A descriptive analysis examined the difference in COVID-19 mortality (30-day and overall) and severity outcomes between the 2 cohorts, and overall survival was compared. Results Among 17 545 adults ≥18 years with cancer who tested positive for COVID-19 between February 20, 2020, and January 28, 2021, in the US, 228 ICI-treated patients were matched to 456 non-ICI-treated patients, comprising the 2 study cohorts. Clinical characteristics differed significantly between the 2 cohorts before matching, with metastatic disease, lung cancer, a history of smoking, and the presence of pulmonary comorbidities being more common in the ICI-treated cohort; after matching, the 2 cohorts were similar. There were no significant differences between the ICI-treated and non-ICI-treated cohorts for 30-day mortality (12.7% vs. 14.9%, P =.235), overall mortality (22.4% vs. 22.4%, P = 1.000), hospitalization (38.6% vs. 39.0%, P =.912), or emergency department visits (16.7% vs. 14.7%, P =.500). Overall survival was similar between the 2 cohorts. Conclusion This analysis adds to the clinical evidence base that use of ICIs before SARS-CoV-2 infection does not affect COVID-19 severity or survival outcomes, supporting the continued use of ICIs in cancer patients during the pandemic.
- Subjects
UNITED States; IMMUNE checkpoint inhibitors; COVID-19; HOSPITAL emergency services; LUNG diseases; ACQUISITION of data; SEVERITY of illness index; CANCER patients; MEDICAL records; HOSPITAL care; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; SMOKING; DISEASE complications
- Publication
Oncologist, 2022, Vol 27, Issue 3, p236
- ISSN
1083-7159
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/oncolo/oyab083