Presentation and severity of COVID-19 among cancer patients: A narrative review of existing evidence

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to have a serious impact on people, including cancer patients and it was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation. The present article attempts to review the prevalence, presentation and severity of COVID-19 among confirmed cancer patients from various studies. Cancer patients are vulnerable to COVID-19 and the data suggest that patients with cancer are at an increased risk of death compared to patients without cancer. Majority of patients from various studies presented with fever, cough or shortness of breath. Other symptoms included diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, ageusia and anosmia. Those who died displayed higher rates of comorbidities compared with those who did not, including cardiovascular disease and hypertension. The risk of death was significantly associated with advancing patient age. Mortality from COVID-19 in cancer patients appears to be principally driven by age, gender and comorbidities.

Keywords

• cancer
• co-morbidity
• coronavirus disease 2019
• mortality
• neoplasm
• prevalence
• sars-cov-2