Infection and reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 in cancer patients: A cohort study

COVID-19 reinfection, although a controversial issue, is an important clinical problem in cancer patients and beyond. The present study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with worse outcomes in cancer patients with Covid-19 in both first infection and reinfection and to describe the involvement of vaccines in reinfection outcome. The present study enrolled 85 patients with solid tumors who had Covid-19 infection and had not been previously vaccinated. Classical risk factors associated with worse outcomes in cancer patients with second SARS-Cov infection were considered. The patients were followed up retrospectively, measuring mortality at the first and second infection and the vaccination rate after the first infection. The factors associated with the highest risk of mortality at the first infection were, in order of importance: intensive care unit (ICU) admission, unfavorable performance status, radiologically quantifiable presence of oncological disease, and administration of cytotoxic chemotherapy in the period immediately before infection. The risk factors associated with higher mortality from reinfection were ECOG 3-4 performance status and administration of cytotoxic chemotherapy in the period immediately before infection. In the studied patients, mortality from reinfection was not affected by prior vaccination. Thus, bearing in mind all of these risk factors for poor outcomes in cancer patients with solid tumors presenting with Covid-19 can help the treating oncologists make personalized decisions about patient care during the pandemic.