COVID-19 and Lung Cancer Survival: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: The outbreak of COVID-19 poses an unprecedented challenge to global public health. Patients with cancer are at a higher risk during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Patients with lung cancer and COVID-19 were compared to those without cancer and those with other malignancies for the main outcome of this study. The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences in susceptibility, disease severity, and mortality between lung cancer patients and the general population. Methods: Using PRISMA reporting guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published literature. The Cochrane Library database, PubMed, EMBASE, and PubMed Central were comprehensively searched for published papers until 31 May 2022. A pooled risk ratio (OR) with 95% CI was presented as the result of this meta-analysis. Results: We included 29 studies involved 21,257 patients with lung cancer and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Analysis data showed that mortality in patients with lung cancer was significantly higher than that in patients without cancer (HR = 2.00 [95%CI 1.52, 2.63], p < 0.01) or with other malignancies (HR = 1.91 [95%CI 1.53, 2.39], p < 0.01). In addition, we also observed a higher risk of severe infection in terms of life-threatening or required ICU admission/mechanical ventilation for lung cancer patients (HR = 1.47 [95%CI 1.06, 2.03], p = 0.02) than for patients with no cancer or other malignancies. Regarding lung cancer as a risk factor for acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection, we could not reach statistical significance (hazard ratio [HR] =2.73 [95%CI 0.84, 8.94], p = 0.1). Conclusion: Lung cancer represents an important comorbidity and modifies COVID-19 prognosis in terms of disease severity and mortality. More patients experience severe or even fatal events. Considering their inherent fragility, patients with lung cancer, and generally all oncological populations, should be treated more carefully during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nanoparticles overcome adaptive immune resistance and enhance immunotherapy via targeting tumor microenvironment in lung cancer

“…Recently, there is an association between lung cancer, COVID-19 and vaccines [ (Trivanovic et al, 2022), (Mao et al, 2021)]. Lung cancer patients have an increased risk from COVID-19 infection and exhibit poor outcomes [ (Oldani et al, 2022), (Aramini et al, 2022)]. In addition, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics and metabolomics are important to be used to determine the mechanisms of disease development and carcinogenesis [ (Zhou et al, 2019;Zhang et al, 2020b;Boys et al, 2022)].…”

Add fuel to the fire: Inflammation and immune response in lung cancer combined with COVID-19

“…Lung cancer is one of the most threatening malignancies to population health, and its relevance began to be recognised after COVID-19 caused a public health emergency that swept the globe. Analysis data showed that patients with lung cancer had a poor prognosis, higher rates of death (HR = 2.00 [95% CI 1.52, 2.63], p < 0.01) and severe infection (HR = 1.47 [95%CI 1.06, 2.03], p = 0.02) compared to patients without cancer ( 110 ). As discussed here, the onset, progression, and prognosis of the two diseases are not isolated and may, in some cases, affect each other and are causal.…”

Mobile Phone App-Based or Face-to-Face Pulmonary Rehabilitation in COVID-19 Survivors

“…It is affected by the severity and the number of symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, dyspnea, cough, pain, and blood in sputum, which are specific for lung tumors. [ 23 ] Considering the incurable nature of the disease, patients with lung cancer face many problems in all physical, mental, social, and spiritual dimensions and will have a very poor quality of life and physical performance. Therefore, in justifying this result, we can point to the different samples studied and the difficult treatment of lung cancer and its destructive and progressive effect on the quality of life of these patients.…”