Impact of COVID -19 in cancer patients on severity of disease and fatal outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and aimsbackground: Currently there is limited knowledge on cancer and COVID-19; we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of cancer on serious events including ICU admission rate and mortality in COVID 19. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials were searched on April 16, 2020, to extract published articles that reported the outcomes of cancer in COVID-19 patients. The search terms were coronavirus and clinical characteristics with no language or time restrictions. We identified 512 published results and 13 studies were included in the analysis. Results: There were 3775 patients, of whom 63 (1$66%) had a cancer. The pooled estimates of ICU admission in COVID 19 patients with and without cancer were 40% versus 8$42%.The odds ratio of ICU admission rates between the cancer and non-cancer groups was 2.88 with a 95% CI of 1$18 to 7$01 (p = 0$026). The pooled estimates of death rate in COVID-19 patients with and without cancer were 20$83% versus 7$82%. The odds ratio of death rates between the cancer and non-cancer groups was 2.25 with a 95% CI ranging from 0$71 to 7$10 with p value of 0$166. The pooled prevalence of cancer patients was 2% (95 CI 1-4). Conclusions: Presence of cancer in COVID-19 leads to higher risk of developing serious events i.e. ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and mortality. The presence of cancer has a significant impact on mortality rate in COVID-19 patients. (c) 2020 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.