@article{Yang2021, 
author = {Ludi Yang and Peiwei Chai and Jie Yu and Xianqun Fan},
title = {Effects of cancer on patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 63,019 participants},
year = {2021},
journal = {Cancer Biology & Medicine},
volume = {18},
number = {1},
pages = {298-307},
keywords = {COVID-19, cancer, incidence, mortality, meta-analysis},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2020.0559},
doi = {10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2020.0559},
abstract = {ObjectivePatients with underlying diseases are more vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The purpose of this study was to investigate cancer incidence in patients with COVID-19 and to determine whether cancer was associated with mortality among patients with COVID-19.MethodsElectronic searches of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, and medRxiv were conducted to collect studies that provided data regarding the incidence and mortality of cancer patients with COVID-19. Meta-analyses were used to estimate pooled incidences, risk ratios (RRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity among studies was detected using I2 statistics.ResultsA total of 19 retrospective studies involving 63,019 patients (2,682 patients with cancer) were included. Meta-analysis showed that the pooled incidence of cancer in COVID-19 patients was 6% (95% CI: 3%–9%). The mortality rate of COVID-19 patients with cancer was higher than that of those without cancer [risk ratio (RR): 1.8, 95% CI: 1.38–2.35, P < 0.01]. Studies on specific types of cancer showed that among COVID-19 patients, the mortality rate of lung cancer patients was higher than that of patients without lung cancer (RR: 1.8, 95% CI: 0.85–3.80, P = 0.02).ConclusionsPatients with cancer were more susceptible to COVID-19. As a risk factor, cancer increased mortality among COVID-19 patients. Among COVID-19 patients with cancer, those who had lung cancer had a higher mortality than those without lung cancer. Our findings suggested that clinicians should pay more attention to cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and provide useful information for their clinical management.}
}