Background Cancer patients, with an incidence of more than 18 million new cases per year, may constitute a significant portion of the COVID-19 infected population. In the pandemic situation, these patients are considered highly vulnerable to infectious complications due to their immunocompromised state. Material & Methods In this retrospective case series, the documents of solid cancer patients infected by SARS-CoV-2, hospitalized in Shariati hospital between 20 February and 20 April 2020, were evaluated. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was based on laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and/or features of chest CT scan highly suggestive for SARS-CoV-2. Results A total of 33 COVID-19-infected cancer patients were included. Mean age was 63.9 years, and 54.5% of the patients were male. LDH level was significantly higher (1487.5±1392.8 vs. 932.3±324.7 U/L, P-value=0.016) and also serum albumin was significantly lower in non-survivors (3.6±0.5 vs. 2.9±0.6 g/dL, p-value=0.03). Among 16 patients with stage IV cancer, thirteen patients died, which was significantly higher compared to stage I-III cancer patients (81.3% vs. 18.8% P-value= <0.001). In terms of developing complications, sepsis, invasive ventilation and mortality was significantly higher in patients who received cytotoxic chemotherapy within the last 14 days. Conclusion In this study, we showed that the mortality rate among cancer patients affected by COVID-19 was higher than general population and this rate has a significant correlation with factors including the stage of the disease, the type of cancer, the activity of cancer and finally receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy within 14 days before diagnosis of COVID-19.

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Back ground and Aim: Heavy metals are considered as risk factors in the development of some types of cancers. In this context, the lead (Pb) along with its biological impacts on the human body has raised significant concerns in public health. The aim of this study was to compare the plasma levels of the lead element in patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer and healthy subjects to examine whether this element has a role in the susceptibility of cancer. Methods: In a case-control study conducted between March 2016 to February 2017, the plasma levels of the lead were assessed. One-hundred patients with upper and lower GI cancers, as well as one-hundered healthy subjects who were age-and sex-matched participated in our study. A classic flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) method was employed for the determination of the lead element in plasma levels of all subjects. Results: The mean age of patients was 53.8±10.6 years old. The patient group consisted of 51 male and 49 female patients. The results showed that the concentrations of Pb were lower than the defined toxic levels. The comparison of the mean levels of Pb between the case and control groups revealed that there was no statistically significant difference even when the gender, age, and history of smoking were included in the statistical analysis. Our findings showed that the concentration of Pb is significantly associated with the type of cancer (p<0.003) and the location of the tumor (whether upper or lower tract was affected) (p<0.003). Conclusion: Lead may contributes to the pathology and progression of GI cancers but we can not conclude that it involved in the causation or susceptibility of healthy individuals to develop GI cancer.

BackgroundCancer patients, with an incidence of more than 18 million new cases per year, may constitute a significant portion of the COVID-19 infected population. In the pandemic situation, these patients are considered highly vulnerable to infectious complications due to their immunocompromised state.Material & MethodsIn this retrospective case series, the documents of solid cancer patients infected by SARS-CoV-2, hospitalized in Shariati hospital (a tertiary care referral center designated for COVID-19 patients, affiliated by Tehran University of Medical Sciences) between 20 February and 20 April 2020, were evaluated. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was based on a positive real-time fluorescence reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acids from nasal and/or pharyngeal specimens and/or features of chest CT scan highly suggestive for SARS-CoV-2.ResultsAmong 33 patients with solid cancer, 11 patients had a positive RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 and 22 patients had highly suggestive chest CT scan findings in favor of SARS-CoV-2 but negative RT-PCR . The mean age of the patients was 63.9 years, and 54.5% of the patients were males. Age and sex of the patients did not correlate with mortality. There was no difference in COVID-19 symptoms, lymphocytopenia, thrombocytopenia between survived and un-survived cancer patients. However, LDH level was significantly higher (7170±2077 vs. 932.3±324.7, P-value=0.016) and also serum albumin was significantly lower in un-survived group (3.6±0.5 vs. 2.9±0.6 p-value=0.03). Among 16 patients with stage IV cancer, thirteen patients died, which was significantly higher compared to stage I-III cancer patients (81.3% vs. 18.8% P-value= <0.001). In terms of developing complications, sepsis, invasive ventilation and mortality was significantly higher in patients who received cytotoxic chemotherapy within the last 14 days. There was no significant difference between the two groups of positive and negative SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR regarding their sex, age, cancer type, mean Hemoglobin concentration, Platelet count, lymphocyte count, serum albumin level, ESR and CRP titer or other laboratory findings and also in terms of clinical symptoms and coexisting.ConclusionIn this study, we showed that the mortality rate among cancer patients affected by COVID-19 was higher than general population and this rate has a significant correlation with factors such as the stage of the disease, the type of cancer, the activity of cancer and finally receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy within 14 days before diagnosis of COVID-19. We also showed that the outcome of cancer patients with positive RT-PCR for COVID-19 similar to those with negative RT-PCR with highly suggestive chest CT scan findings.