In a new study, researchers found that COVID-19 can be very dangerous for people already fighting cancer.
The research was conducted by a team at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE).
The study was based on an analysis of the health records of 212,000 people living with cancer.
It found that a COVID-19 diagnosis raised a patient’s odds of death 16-fold, compared to cancer patients without the coronavirus.
Cancer patients with COVID-19 were also more likely to have other health issues, such as kidney failure, obesity, or heart disease—all of which have also been tied to an increased risk for severe coronavirus illness.
Compared to cancer patients without COVID-19, those with the illness were also more prone to requiring hospitalization and even the need for ventilator assistance to keep them alive, the study found.
The findings revealed a stark reality that people with cancer are at an increased risk of more serious outcomes from COVID-19.
As happens in other areas of health care, income and race also appear to play a role in who fares worse when COVID-19 and cancer combine.
The team says preventing infection with the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is the best way to help protect vulnerable cancer patients.
Social distancing, frequent hand-washing, and use of hand sanitizers wearing a mask, and other every day precautions can help stop that from happening.
The data used in the study included health records for people living with cancer who were enrolled in one of two major health systems in the Midwestern United States.
One author of the study is Dr. Harpreet Singh, an associate director of Cancer in Older Adults and Special Populations at OCE.
The study was released at an online meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Copyright © 2020 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
