A brief report of COVID-19 cases in cancer patients from AMBA: description of hospitalized population and their immunity against SARS-CoV-2

MARCO AURELIO DIAZ GUTIERREZ; MARIEL FUSCO; CARLOS RAFAEL PICON; NICOLAS MARCOLINI; ANA BEZAZIAN; LAURA ALVAREZ; PABLO BRENZONI; ESTEBAN FIORE; PAULA ROSELLO; PABLO MANDO; ALEX KOSTIANOVSKY; GUILLERMO BIZANTINO; MARCELO RODRIGUEZ; MATIAS TISI BAÑA; CARLOS SILVA; MANGLIO MIGUEL RIZZO; DIANA HANSEN; MARIANA MALVICINI

Buenos Aires

Congreso; Reunion Anual de Biociencias 2021; 2021

BACKGROUND: Until today there are registered 229,414,751cases and 4,707,872 deaths attributable to the disease caused by the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) called COVID-19, all over the world. COVID-19 can be asymptomatic or causing a respiratory distress syndrome and death. The risk of COVID-19 and mortality for COVID-19 have been associated with older age and comorbidities, such as cancer. The situation is a great challenge for these patients. Furthermore, in patients with active treatment, the decrease in cell populations involved in protection is very common and immunity against SARS-CoV-2 may be impaired. OBJECTIVES: Here we described the population of oncological (P On) and non-oncological (P NOn) patients with moderate or severe COVID-19 hospitalized at the HUA from December, 2020 to September, 2021. Peripheral blood samples were collected at different times to analyze the duration of the protective response (Elisa; flow cytometry) RESULTS: We incorporated 24 patients: 11 [45%] with oncological disease in treatment, 5 male median age 59 with lung (4) and scalp (1) cancer and 6 female median age 36 with ovarian (1), cervix (2), renal (1) rectum (1) and breast cancer (1) with moderate (9) or severe (2) COVID-19 and 13 patients without oncological disease [54%], 7 male median age 59 years, 6 female median age 40, with moderate (12) or severe (1) COVID-19. In addition, the POn group had a longer hospital stay (15.9 vs 8.8 days; p 0.016); higher oxygen requirement (high flow 36.4% vs 7.7%; p 0.085). The mortality rate in POn was 36% and there were no deaths in PNon. The circulating immune response for SARS-CoV-2 was analyzed in 50 samples at different times from the 24 hospitalized patients. The protective response was significantly lower in the POn population (p