
Maria Gomez
Professor

Cancer and Risk of COVID-19 Through a General Community Survey
Author
Summary, in English
Individuals with cancer may be at high risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and adverse outcomes. However, evidence from large population-based studies examining whether cancer and cancer-related therapy exacerbates the risk of COVID-19 infection is still limited. Data were collected from the COVID Symptom Study smartphone application since March 29 through May 8, 2020. Among 23,266 participants with cancer and 1,784,293 without cancer, we documented 10,404 reports of a positive COVID-19 test. Compared with participants without cancer, those living with cancer had a 60% increased risk of a positive COVID-19 test. Among patients with cancer, current treatment with chemotherapy or immunotherapy was associated with a 2.2-fold increased risk of a positive test. The association between cancer and COVID-19 infection was stronger among participants >65 years and males. Future studies are needed to identify subgroups by tumor types and treatment regimens who are particularly at risk for COVID-19 infection and adverse outcomes.
Department/s
- Genomics, Diabetes and Endocrinology
- Diabetic Complications
- EXODIAB: Excellence of Diabetes Research in Sweden
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology
- EpiHealth: Epidemiology for Health
Publishing year
2021
Language
English
Publication/Series
The Oncologist
Volume
26
Issue
1
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
AlphaMed Press
Topic
- Cancer and Oncology
- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Keywords
- Covid-19
- SARS-CoV-2
Status
Published
Project
- COVID Symptom Study Sweden
Research group
- Genomics, Diabetes and Endocrinology
- Diabetic Complications
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1083-7159