Adolescents and young adults with cancer: the clinical course of COVID-19 infections

Abstract

Adolescents and Young Adults (AYAs: 15-39 y) with cancer face unique vulnerabilities, yet remain under-represented on clinical trials, including adult registries of COVID-19 in cancer (AYAs: 8-12%). Thus, we leveraged the Pediatric Oncology COVID-19 Case Report (POCC) to examine the clinical course of COVID-19 among AYAs with cancer. POCC collects de-identified clinical and sociodemographic data regarding 0-39yo with cancer (AYAs = 37%) and COVID-19 from >100 institutions. Between 04/01/2020-11/28/2023, 191 older AYAs [22-39y] and 640 younger AYAs [15-21y] were captured. Older AYAs were less often hospitalized (p < .001), admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU, p = .02), and/or required respiratory support (p = .057). In multivariable analyses, older AYAs faced 80% lower odds of ICU admission but 2.3-times greater odds of changes to cancer-directed therapy. Unvaccinated patients had 5.4-times higher odds of ICU admission. Among AYAs with cancer, the COVID-19 course varies by age. These findings can inform pediatric/adult oncology teams surrounding COVID-19 management and prevention.