Appanna, Nathan;
Mew, Rosie;
Williams, Sophie;
Starkey, Thomas;
Patel, Grisma;
Hudson, Laura;
Burke, Emma;
... Lee, Lennard; + view all
(2025)
Safe prescribing in cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and outcomes following restart of cancer care following SARS-CoV-2 infection: The COV-SPOT initiative.
International Journal of Cancer
, 156
(11)
pp. 2087-2093.
10.1002/ijc.35377.
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Text (Article)
Patel_COV-SPOT IJC final manuscript 2025.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 11 March 2026. Download (562kB) |
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Text (Supplementary Information)
Patel_COV-SPOT IJC final supplementary material 2025.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 11 March 2026. Download (94kB) |
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Text (Figrue)
Patel_COV-SPOT IJC final figure 1 2025.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 11 March 2026. Download (33kB) |
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread across the world as a highly transmissible endemic disease. For many cancer patients, SARS-CoV-2 infection is unavoidable. It continues to disrupt cancer care, causing treatment delays and major psycho-socio-medical issues. At present, there is limited evidence on safe prescribing of anti-cancer therapy, and safe treatment restart following SARS-CoV-2 infection. We conducted a prospective cohort study involving 406 COVID-19-positive cancer patients across five UK cancer centres and collected data on delay durations, COVID-19 symptoms and mortality, to ascertain the effect of treatment interruptions. Patients were studied between May 2022 and March 2023, during which Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 were predominant. Mean treatment interruption was 12.7 days (standard deviation 47.3 days). Upon resuming anti-cancer therapy, 8.5% experienced COVID-19 symptom progression, and 1.2% succumbed to COVID-19-related mortality. Patients with haematological cancers had a 3.4-fold increased risk of severe symptoms at 4 weeks compared to solid tumour patients. Higher symptom burden at COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with a 3.0-fold increase in symptom severity at 4 weeks following treatment restart. At 8 weeks following restart, 2.1% had increased morbidity or mortality. We highlight the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on patients and cancer care, and the risk of resuming cancer treatments in patients with symptomatic COVID-19. Although the risk of mortality is relatively low upon treatment resumption, personalised approaches assessing cancer diagnosis and SARS-CoV-2 status are crucial. Treatments are also stopped due to other infectious conditions and our results could be reviewed in the context of yearly influenza pandemics.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Safe prescribing in cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and outcomes following restart of cancer care following SARS-CoV-2 infection: The COV-SPOT initiative |
| Location: | United States |
| DOI: | 10.1002/ijc.35377 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.35377 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, cancer care, safe prescribing, cancer treatment interruption, mortality |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology > MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10209151 |
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