Background Cancer patients with COVID-19 disease have been reported to have double the case fatality rate of the general population. Materials and methods A systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central, Google Scholar, and MedRxiv was done for studies on cancer patients with COVID-19. Pooled proportions were calculated for categorical variables. Odds ratio and forest plots were constructed for both primary and secondary outcomes. The random-effects model was used to account for heterogeneity between studies. Results This systematic review of 31 studies and meta-analysis of 181,323 patients from 26 studies involving 23,736 cancer patients is the largest meta-analysis to the best of our knowledge assessing outcomes in cancer patients affected by COVID-19. Our meta-analysis shows that cancer patients with COVID-19 have a higher likelihood of death (odds ratio, OR 2.54), which was largely driven by mortality among patients in China. Cancer patients were more likely to be intubated, although ICU admission rates were not statistically significant. Among cancer subtypes, the mortality was highest in hematological malignancies (OR 2.43) followed by lung cancer (OR 1.8). There was no association between receipt of a particular type of oncologic therapy and mortality. Our study showed that cancer patients affected by COVID-19 are a decade older than the normal population and have a higher proportion of co-morbidities. There was insufficient data to assess the association of COVID-directed therapy and survival outcomes in cancer patients. Despite the heterogeneity of studies and inconsistencies in reported variables and outcomes, these data could guide clinical practice and oncologic care during this unprecedented global health pandemic. Conclusion Cancer patients with COVID-19 disease are at increased risk of mortality and morbidity. A more nuanced understanding of the interaction between cancer-directed therapies and COVID-19-directed therapies is needed. This will require uniform prospective recording of data, possibly in multi-institutional registry databases.

Objectives To explore associations between financial strain and self-rated health among 1341 Black adults. Methods Associations were investigated using a covariate-adjusted linear regression model. Mediation (via stress and/or depressive symptoms) was explored in additional models using a nonparametric bootstrapping procedure. Results Higher financial strain was associated with poorer self-rated health (p < .001). Stress and depressive symptoms were each significant mediators of this relation in both single and multiple mediator models (p values ≤ .05). Conclusions Financial strain may contribute to poorer health among Black adults, partially via greater stress and depressive symptoms. Potential theoretical, intervention, and policy implications are discussed. Future studies with longitudinal designs are needed to confirm these results.

This promising pilot trial suggests a need for more research on preventive counseling to maintain sexual function during aromatase inhibitor treatment.

Background Adherence to guidelines for surveillance mammography and clinic visits is an important component of breast cancer survivorship care. Identifying ethnic disparities in adherence may lead to improved care delivery and outcomes. Methods We evaluated records of 4,535 patients treated for stage I, II, or III breast cancer at our cancer center between January 1997 and December 2006. We used generalized estimating equations and Cox proportional hazards analyses to evaluate ethnic differences in missed mammograms and clinic visits up to 4 years of follow-up and the impact of those differences on overall survival. Results Nonadherence to guidelines for mammography (P = .0002) and clinic visits (P < .0001) increased over time. Hispanic and black patients were more likely to be nonadherent to guidelines for mammography (odds ratio [OR] = 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.10 to 1.65], OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.11 to 1.66, respectively) and clinic visits (OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.27 to 2.06, OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.13 to 1.86, respectively) than white patients. There was an interaction between Hispanic ethnicity and endocrine therapy on nonadherence to mammography guidelines (P = .001). Nonadherence to mammography and clinic visit guidelines was not associated with overall survival. Conclusions Withdrawal from breast cancer survivorship care increases over time, and black and Hispanic patients are more likely to be nonadherent. An understanding of the reasons for ethnic disparities in adherence to guidelines for mammography and clinic visits is needed to improve retention in survivorship care.