PURPOSE: To analyze the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with cancer in hospital care after implementation of institutional and governmental safety measurements. METHODS: Patients with cancer routinely tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by nasal swab and real-time polymerase chain reaction between March 21 and May 4, 2020, were included. The results of this cancer cohort were statistically compared with the SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in the Austrian population as determined by a representative nationwide random sample study (control cohort 1) and a cohort of patients without cancer presenting to our hospital (control cohort 2). RESULTS: A total of 1,688 SARS-CoV-2 tests in 1,016 consecutive patients with cancer were performed. A total of 270 of 1,016 (26.6%) of the patients were undergoing active anticancer treatment in a neoadjuvant/adjuvant and 560 of 1,016 (55.1%) in a palliative setting. A total of 53 of 1,016 (5.2%) patients self-reported symptoms potentially associated with COVID-19. In 4 of 1,016 (0.4%) patients, SARS-CoV-2 was detected. At the time of testing at our department, all four SARS-CoV-2-positive patients were asymptomatic, and two of them had recovered from symptomatic COVID-19. Viral clearance was achieved in three of the four patients 14-56 days after testing positive. The estimated odds ratio of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence between the cancer cohort and control cohort 1 was 1.013 (95% CI, 0.209 to 4.272; P = 1), and between control cohort 2 and the cancer cohort it was 18.333 (95% CI, 6.056 to 74.157). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that continuation of active anticancer therapy and follow-up visits in a large tertiary care hospital are feasible and safe after implementation of strict population-wide and institutional safety measures during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Routine SARS-CoV-2 testing of patients with cancer seems advisable to detect asymptomatic virus carriers and avoid uncontrolled viral spread.
PURPOSE: To analyze the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with cancer in hospital care after implementation of institutional and governmental safety measurements. METHODS:Patients with cancer routinely tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by nasal swab and real-time polymerase chain reaction between March 21 and May 4, 2020, were included. The results of this cancer cohort were statistically compared with the SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in the Austrian population as determined by a representative nationwide random sample study (control cohort 1) and a cohort of patients without cancer presenting to our hospital (control cohort 2). RESULTS: A total of 1,688 SARS-CoV-2 tests in 1,016 consecutive patients with cancer were performed. A total of 270 of 1,016 (26.6%) of the patients were undergoing active anticancer treatment in a neoadjuvant/adjuvant and 560 of 1,016 (55.1%) in a palliative setting. A total of 53 of 1,016 (5.2%) patients self-reported symptoms potentially associated with COVID-19. In 4 of 1,016 (0.4%) patients, SARS-CoV-2 was detected. At the time of testing at our department, all four SARS-CoV-2-positive patients were asymptomatic, and two of them had recovered from symptomatic COVID-19. Viral clearance was achieved in three of the four patients 14-56 days after testing positive. The estimated odds ratio of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence between the cancer cohort and control cohort 1 was 1.013 (95% CI, 0.209 to 4.272; P = 1), and between control cohort 2 and the cancer cohort it was 18.333 (95% CI, 6.056 to 74.157). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that continuation of active anticancer therapy and follow-up visits in a large tertiary care hospital are feasible and safe after implementation of strict population-wide and institutional safety measures during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Routine SARS-CoV-2 testing of patients with cancer seems advisable to detect asymptomatic virus carriers and avoid uncontrolled viral spread.
Authors: Holger F Rabenau; Harald H Kessler; Marhild Kortenbusch; Andreas Steinhorst; Reinhard B Raggam; Annemarie Berger Journal: J Clin Virol Date: 2007-09-04 Impact factor: 3.168
Authors: Christopher M Petrilli; Simon A Jones; Jie Yang; Harish Rajagopalan; Luke O'Donnell; Yelena Chernyak; Katie A Tobin; Robert J Cerfolio; Fritz Francois; Leora I Horwitz Journal: BMJ Date: 2020-05-22
Authors: Julia M Berger; Margaretha Gansterer; Wolfgang Trutschnig; Arne C Bathke; Robert Strassl; Wolfgang Lamm; Markus Raderer; Matthias Preusser; Anna S Berghoff Journal: Wien Klin Wochenschr Date: 2021-08-19 Impact factor: 1.704
Authors: Teele Kuusk; David Cullen; Joana Briosa Neves; Nicholas Campain; Ravi Barod; Ekaterini Boleti; Soha El-Sheihk; Lee Grant; John Kelly; Marta Marchetti; Faiz Mumtaz; Prasad Patki; Navin Ramachandran; Pedro Silva; My-Anh Tran-Dang; Miles Walkden; Maxine G B Tran; Thomas Powles; Axel Bex Journal: BJU Int Date: 2021-05-25 Impact factor: 5.969
Authors: Rohini D Naipaul; Rebecca E Mercer; Kelvin K W Chan; Lyndee Yeung; Leta Forbes; Scott Gavura Journal: Curr Oncol Date: 2021-02-26 Impact factor: 3.677
Authors: Christian Cornelius Arnold; Jens von der Grün; Mark Christoph Brekner; Jörg Licher; Emmanouil Fokas; Claus Rödel; Maximilian Fleischmann Journal: Strahlenther Onkol Date: 2021-10-07 Impact factor: 3.621
Authors: Thorsten Fuereder; Anna Sophie Berghoff; Gerwin Heller; Helmuth Haslacher; Thomas Perkmann; Robert Strassl; Julia Maria Berger; Hannah Christina Puhr; Judith Kreminger; Florian Moik; Lorenz Schubert; Angelika Martina Starzer; Ariane Steindl; Stefan Winkler; Matthias Preusser; Selma Tobudic Journal: ESMO Open Date: 2020-09