BMC Cancer (Mar 2023)

Impact of COVID-19 in patients on active melanoma therapy and with history of melanoma

  • Douglas B. Johnson,
  • Michael B. Atkins,
  • Cassandra Hennessy,
  • Trisha Wise-Draper,
  • Hannah Heilman,
  • Joy Awosika,
  • Ziad Bakouny,
  • Chris Labaki,
  • Renee Maria Saliby,
  • Clara Hwang,
  • Sunny R. K. Singh,
  • Nino Balanchivadze,
  • Christopher R. Friese,
  • Leslie A. Fecher,
  • James J. Yoon,
  • Brandon Hayes-Lattin,
  • Mehmet A. Bilen,
  • Cecilia A. Castellano,
  • Gary H. Lyman,
  • Lisa Tachiki,
  • Sumit A. Shah,
  • Michael J. Glover,
  • Daniel B. Flora,
  • Elizabeth Wulff-Burchfield,
  • Anup Kasi,
  • Saqib H. Abbasi,
  • Dimitrios Farmakiotis,
  • Kendra Viera,
  • Elizabeth J. Klein,
  • Lisa B. Weissman,
  • Chinmay Jani,
  • Matthew Puc,
  • Catherine C. Fahey,
  • Daniel Y. Reuben,
  • Sanjay Mishra,
  • Alicia Beeghly-Fadiel,
  • Benjamin French,
  • Jeremy L. Warner,
  • COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-023-10708-6
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Introduction COVID-19 particularly impacted patients with co-morbid conditions, including cancer. Patients with melanoma have not been specifically studied in large numbers. Here, we sought to identify factors that associated with COVID-19 severity among patients with melanoma, particularly assessing outcomes of patients on active targeted or immune therapy. Methods Using the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) registry, we identified 307 patients with melanoma diagnosed with COVID-19. We used multivariable models to assess demographic, cancer-related, and treatment-related factors associated with COVID-19 severity on a 6-level ordinal severity scale. We assessed whether treatment was associated with increased cardiac or pulmonary dysfunction among hospitalized patients and assessed mortality among patients with a history of melanoma compared with other cancer survivors. Results Of 307 patients, 52 received immunotherapy (17%), and 32 targeted therapy (10%) in the previous 3 months. Using multivariable analyses, these treatments were not associated with COVID-19 severity (immunotherapy OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.19 – 1.39; targeted therapy OR 1.89, 95% CI 0.64 – 5.55). Among hospitalized patients, no signals of increased cardiac or pulmonary organ dysfunction, as measured by troponin, brain natriuretic peptide, and oxygenation were noted. Patients with a history of melanoma had similar 90-day mortality compared with other cancer survivors (OR 1.21, 95% CI 0.62 – 2.35). Conclusions Melanoma therapies did not appear to be associated with increased severity of COVID-19 or worsening organ dysfunction. Patients with history of melanoma had similar 90-day survival following COVID-19 compared with other cancer survivors.

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