Clinical portrait of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in European cancer patients

This observational study of cancer patients diagnosed with Covid-19 (n=890; 218 in the UK) found no evidence that receipt of anti-cancer therapy (chemotherapy, targeted therapy, endocrine therapy and immunotherapy) was associated with mortality.

SPS commentary:

The analyses also suggested exposure to antimalarials was an independent predictor of survival. However the authors acknowledge that a direct cause-effect relationship cannot be inferred as the study was observational and retrospective, and a high proportion of patients were treated with concomitant therapies. Diagnostic pathways and therapeutic decisions were not standardised across treatment centres, and this should be considered when interpreting the observed associations between treatment and outcomes, which may be influenced by unmeasured confounders.

Cancer Discovery