Initiation of a new anti-cancer medical treatment in ICU: a retrospective study

The purpose of our study is to evaluate the characteristics of patients whose medical anti-cancer treatment has been initiated at the ICU and to release prognostic factors for hospital mortality in these patients.

We analyzed retrospectively all the records of cancer patients admitted between 01/01/2007 and 31/12/2017 in our ICU and for whom a new anti-cancer medical treatment was initiated during their ICU stay.

Our study includes 147 patients, 78 men (53%) and 69 women (47%), with a median age of 58 years. Eighty patients (54%) had a solid tumor and 67 (46%) a hematological malignancy. ICU mortality was 23% and hospital mortality 32%. The poor prognostic factors for hospital mortality were: higher SOFA, higher Charslon comorbidity index and the presence of a therapeutic limitation (introduced at the time of admission or within 24 hours of admission to the ICU). One-year survival for patients who survived hospital stay was 37% (17% for those with a solid tumor and 61% for the ones with a hematological malignancy).

Initiation of an anti-cancer medical treatment is feasible and can lead to good 1 year survival rate, especially for those with a hematological tumor.