COVID-19 in cancer patients: risk, clinical features, and management

Article Figures & Data

Table 1

Clinical features in non-cancer and cancer patients with COVID-19

Clinical features		Non-cancer patients with COVID-19	Cancer patients with COVID-19
Clinical charac teristics	Similar:	Fever (88.7%)	Fever (78% to 82.1%)
		Cough (67.8%)	Dry cough (74% to 81%)
		Nausea or vomiting (5%)	Nausea or vomiting (5.71%)
		Diarrhea (3.8%)^3–5	Diarrhea (12%)^5,6,14
	Different:	Fatigue (38.1%)	Fatigue (64.3%)
		Dyspnea (21.9%)	Dyspnea (50%) tachypnea (14.3%)
		From onset to dyspnea was 8 days^3–5,16	From onset to dyspnea was 1 or 5 days for lung cancer or other cancer patients, respectively^5,6
Radiographical findings (Chest CT imaging)	Similar:	Ground-glass opacity (65%)	Ground-glass opacity (69% to 75%)
		Patchy consolidations (50%)^3,24	Patchy consolidation (46.3%)^5,14
	Different:	Air bronchogram (47%) Interlobular septal thickening (35%) Adjacent pleura thickening (32%)	Interstitial abnormal findings including reticular appearance, fibrous trips and interlobular septal thickening (14.3%)
		Bilateral lung involvement (51.8%)^3,24	Bilateral lung involvement (78.6% to 91%)^5,14
Laboratory find ings	Similar:	Lymphopenia (83.2%)	Lymphopenia (82.1%)
		Leukopenia (33.7%)	Leukopenia (32.1%)
		Elevated CRP (86%)	Elevated CRP (82.1%)
		Elevated myoglobin (15%)	Elevated serum globulin (39.3%)
		Elevated D-Dimer (36%)	Elevated D-Dimer (39.3%)
		Low level of serum albumin (98%)^3,4,20	Low level of serum albumin (89.3%)^5,19
	Different:	Anemia (51%)	Anemia (75%)
		Elevated LDH (76%)	Elevated LDH (50%)
		Elevated ESR (85%)^3,4,20	Elevated ESR (57.1%)^5,19

CRP, C-reactive protein; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Table 2

COVID-19 treatments for non-cancer and cancer patients with COVID-19

Treatment	Non-cancer patients with COVID-19	Cancer patients with COVID-19
Oxygen therapy	Oxygen support	Oxygen support
	High-flow nasal cannula	Invasive mechanical ventilation
	Prone position ventilation	Endotracheal intubation and invasive ventilation
	Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation^24,27	Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation^5,6,14
Antiviral therapy	Remdesivir	Oseltamivir
	Arbidol	Umifenovir
	Chloroquine	Arbidol
	Lopinavir/ritonavir	Lopinavir/ritonavir
	Nucleoside analogues	Ganciclovir
	Neuraminidase inhibitors^{24,25,28–30}	Ribavirin^5,6,14
Immune enhancement therapy	Interferon	Interferon
	Intravenous immunoglobulin	Intravenous immunoglobulin^5,14
	Thymosin alpha-1^25,31
Anti-inflammatory therapy	Corticosteroid	Systemic corticosteroid
	Methylprednisolone	Tocilizumab^5,6,14,34
	Dexamethasone
	Blood purification therapy
	Tocilizumab and sariluma
	Siltuximab
	Prazosin^31–35
Convalescent plasma therapy	Convalescent plasma therapy	No relative reports
	Plasma globulin specific to SARS-CoV-2^25,31	The safety and the efficacy need further evaluation