ArticleBMJ open2021
Increased risk of COVID-19-related admissions in patients with active solid organ cancer in the West Midlands region of the UK: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prognostic value of C-reactive protein levels in pulmonary infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Sociodemographic, medical, health behavior, and psychosocial factors associated with COVID-19 diagnoses in the New Jersey cancer survivor cohort.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2025Article
- Article
- COVID-19 perceptions, impacts, and experiences: a cross-sectional analysis among New Jersey cancer survivors.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2024Article
- Deaths during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from regional patterns in Germany and Poland.BMC public health · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveSusceptibility of patients with cancer to COVID-19 pneumonitis has been variable. We aim to quantify the risk of hospitalisation in patients with active cancer and use a machine learning algorithm (MLA) and traditional statistics to predict clinical outcomes and mortality.
designRetrospective cohort study.
settingA single UK district general hospital.
participantsData on total hospital admissions between March 2018 and June 2020, all active cancer diagnoses between March 2019 and June 2020 and clinical parameters of COVID-19-positive admissions between March 2020 and June 2020 were collected. 526 COVID-19 admissions without an active cancer diagnosis were compared with 87 COVID-19 admissions with an active cancer diagnosis. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: 30-day and 90-day post-COVID-19 survival.
resultsIn total, 613 patients were enrolled with male to female ratio of 1:6 and median age of 77 years. The estimated infection rate of COVID-19 was 87 of 22 729 (0.4%) in the patients with cancer and 526 of 404 379 (0.1%) in the population without cancer (OR of being hospitalised with COVID-19 if having cancer is 2.942671 (95% CI: 2.344522 to 3.693425); p<0.001). Survival was reduced in patients with cancer with COVID-19 at 90 days. R-Studio software determined the association between cancer status, COVID-19 and 90-day survival against variables using MLA. Multivariate analysis showed increases in age (OR 1.039 (95% CI: 1.020 to 1.057), p<0.001), urea (OR 1.005 (95% CI: 1.002 to 1.007), p<0.001) and C reactive protein (CRP) (OR 1.065 (95% CI: 1.016 to 1.116), p<0.008) are associated with greater 30-day and 90-day mortality. The MLA model examined the contribution of predictive variables for 90-day survival (area under the curve: 0.749); with transplant patients, age, male gender and diabetes mellitus being predictors of greater mortality.
conclusionsActive cancer diagnosis has a threefold increase in risk of hospitalisation with COVID-19. Increased age, urea and CRP predict mortality in patients with cancer. MLA complements traditional statistical analysis in identifying prognostic variables for outcomes of COVID-19 infection in patients with cancer. This study provides proof of concept for MLA in risk prediction for COVID-19 in patients with cancer and should inform a redesign of cancer services to ensure safe delivery of cancer care.
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