ABSTRACT:

Objective:

To analyze the prognostic factors for death from COVID-19 among cancer patients.

Methods:

This is a retrospective study based on data recorded in the reporting system for COVID-19 hospitalizations in Mato Grosso. We assessed cases of cancer patients reported between April 2020 and June 2021. We calculated absolute and relative frequencies of sociodemographic variables, hospital care variables, and comorbidities, as well as mean, median, and standard deviation of age and length of stay. Odds ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) — crude and adjusted — were estimated using the logistic regression model.

Results:

We analyzed 948 cancer patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in Mato Grosso, with a mean age of 59.7 years. The proportion of deaths was 34.5%, the mortality rate was 3.73 deaths/day (95%CI 3.35–4.16), and the median time between admission and death was 18 days. The likelihood of death was greater among patients aged 60 years or older, with chronic lung disease, who were admitted directly to intensive care units, and required mechanical ventilation at the time of admission. Patients hospitalized from April to December 2020 and January to March 2021 had a greater chance of death than those hospitalized between April and June 2021.

Conclusion:

The likelihood of death from COVID-19 was greater in cancer patients hospitalized before their vaccination period in the state, as well as among older individuals and those admitted in worse clinical conditions.

Keywords:
COVID-19; Cancer; Hospital mortality; Prognostic factors

INTRODUCTION

The infection caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) had its first officially registered cases in China at the end of 2019 and arrived in Brazil in February 2020, when the first case of the disease was reported in the country. After more than a year of COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil stands out among the countries with the highest number of cases and deaths from the disease; among the country's regions, the Midwest Region is the second in incidence rate and the first in mortality per 100 thousand inhabitants. The state of Mato Grosso had its first case of COVID-19 confirmed on March 20, 2020, and the first death on April 3, 2020. Until August 11, 2021, the disease had been responsible for 497,463 cases and 14,277 deaths reported, placing the state in sixth place in incidence rate (14,277 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants) and first in mortality (368 deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants) among the 26 Brazilian states¹1 Ministério da Saúde. Painel interativo COVID-19 [Internet]. 2022 [cited on Apr 19, 2022]. Available at: https://covid.saude.gov.br/
https://covid.saude.gov.br/... .

In the COVID-19 pandemic, cancer patients have been considered a highly vulnerable group due to metabolic changes resulting from tumor growth and the suppression of their immune system during treatment²2 Giannakoulis VG, Papoutsi E, Siempos II. Effect of cancer on clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19: a meta-analysis of patient data. JCO Glob Oncol 2020;6:799-808. https://doi.org/10.1200/GO.20.00225
https://doi.org/10.1200/GO.20.00225... . In a population-based cohort study — after adjustments for demographic characteristics, smoking, and comorbidities —, cancer diagnosis was independently associated with a higher chance of hospitalization and 30-day mortality from COVID-19³3 Sun L, Surya S, Le AN, Desai H, Doucette A, Gabriel P, et al. Rates of COVID-19-related outcomes in cancer compared with noncancer patients. JNCI Cancer Spectr 2021;5(1):pkaa120. https://doi.org/10.1093/jncics/pkaa120
https://doi.org/10.1093/jncics/pkaa120... . A recent meta-analysis of risk factors for death from COVID-19 in cancer patients identified a higher mortality rate among men, individuals over 65 years of age, and those with comorbidities and symptoms such as dyspnea and cough⁴4 Liu Y, Lu H, Wang W, Liu Q, Zhu C. Clinical risk factors for mortality in patients with cancer and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of recent observational studies. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther 2021;21(1):107-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/14737140.2021.1837628
https://doi.org/10.1080/14737140.2021.18... .

Among the factors that possibly aggravated the situation of many cancer patients during the pandemic period, delayed diagnosis, inadequate cancer care⁵5 Sharpless NE. COVID-19 and cancer. Science 2020;368(6497):1290. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd3377
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd3377... , and suspension of cancer screening⁶6 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Instituto Nacional do Câncer. Nota Técnica – DIDEPRE/CONPREV/INCA Detecção precoce de câncer durante a pandemia de Covid-19. Available at: https://www.inca.gov.br/sites/ufu.sti.inca.local/files/media/document/nota-tecnica-deteccao-precoce.pdf.
https://www.inca.gov.br/sites/ufu.sti.in... stand out. In Brazil, these effects may have been caused not only by the adoption of stricter social distancing measures and redirection of resources in periods when health services collapsed, but also by the individual perception of the risk of infection during treatment⁷7 Lima ALMA, Borborema MCD, Matos APR, Oliveira KMM, Mello MJG, Lins MM. COVID-19 coorte de crianças com câncer: atraso no tratamento e aumento da frequência de óbitos. Rev Bras Saude Mater Infant 2021;21(Supl. 1):S305-10. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9304202100S100017
https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9304202100S... ,⁸8 Souza JB, Conceição VM, Araujo JS, Bitencourt JVOV, Silva Filho CC, Rossetto M. Câncer em tempos de COVID-19: repercussões na vida de mulheres em tratamento oncológico. Rev Enferm UERJ 2020;28:e51821. https://doi.org/10.12957/reuerj.2020.51821
https://doi.org/10.12957/reuerj.2020.518... ; yet, few studies have assessed factors associated with death among cancer patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in the country⁹9 Yang K, Sheng Y, Huang C, Jin Y, Xiong N, Jiang K, et al. Clinical characteristics, outcomes, and risk factors for mortality in patients with cancer and COVID-19 in Hubei, China: a multicentre, retrospective, cohort study. Lancet Oncol 2020;21(7):904-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30310-7
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30... ,¹⁰10 Galindo RJSC, Andrade LB, Sena GR, Nogueira LRM, Lima TPF, Lima JTO, et al. Mulheres com câncer e COVID-19: uma análise da letalidade e aspectos clínicos em Pernambuco. Rev Bras Saude Mater Infant 2021;21(Supl 1):S167-75. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9304202100S100008
https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9304202100S... .

Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the prognostic factors for death among cancer patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in Mato Grosso.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study by analyzing the hospitalization of patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Mato Grosso between April 1, 2020, and June 10, 2021. Data were obtained by the Mato Grosso Health Department (Secretaria do Estado de Saúde de Mato Grosso — SES-MT) from the COVID-19 Panel, which, in turn, collected these data from the IndicaSUS System, established in Mato Grosso for the hospital reporting of inpatients with suspected or confirmed cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or COVID-19. Reporting is mandatory and made daily by all public and private health facilities that offer hospitalization in the state¹¹11 Mato Grosso. Portaria no 141/2020/GBSES. Institui o Sistema INDICASUS para a notificação hospitalar de casos de internação, suspeitos ou confirmados, de Síndrome Respiratória Aguda Grave-SRAG ou COVID-19, que é de realização obrigatória e diária para todos os estabelecimentos públicos e privados de saúde que realizam internações de pacientes do estado de Mato Grosso, e dá outras providências. [Internet]. 2020. Available at: https://www.iomat.mt.gov.br/portal/visualizacoes/pdf/15876/#/p:23/e:15876
https://www.iomat.mt.gov.br/portal/visua... .

This study assessed reported cases of COVID-19 patients admitted to public and private hospitals in Mato Grosso, from March 2, 2020, to June 10, 2021, who had cancer among the registered comorbidities and whose outcome was discharge or death.

The dependent variable was death from COVID-19 during hospitalization among patients who declared having cancer. The demographic variables analyzed were gender (female and male), age group (<40 years, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, and 60 years or older), ethnicity/skin color (white, black/multiracial, Asian, indigenous, and ignored), and the patient's macroregion of residence (South, West, North, East, and Mid-North)¹²12 Governo do Estado de Mato Grosso. Secretaria de Estado de Saúde. Resolução CIB/MT no 57 de 26 de julho de 2018. Dispõe sobre as diretrizes e o cronograma do processo de Planejamento Regional Integrado (PRI) e estabelece a conformação das 16 (dezesseis) regiões de saúde no Estado de Mato Grosso em 06 (seis) macrorregiões. CIB 057 de 26 de julho de 2018 [Internet]. 2018. Available at: http://www.saude.mt.gov.br/legislacao?origem=19&p=&num=57&mes=&ano=2018
http://www.saude.mt.gov.br/legislacao?or... . The main risk comorbidities (yes/no) for more severe cases of COVID-19 (hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, chronic kidney disease, and obesity) were included. Regarding admission aspects, we considered the type of unit at admission (ward and intensive care unit — ICU) and mechanical ventilation (yes and no) on the first day of hospitalization, in addition to the month the patient was admitted and a month grouping in five periods (in 2020: April–June, July–September, and October–December; in 2021: January–March and April–June).

We calculated absolute and relative frequencies of sociodemographic variables, hospital care variables, and comorbidities, as well as mean, median, and standard deviation (SD) of age (years) and length of stay (days). In-hospital mortality rates were calculated according to the total number of inpatients and the number of persons/day of follow-up, both multiplied by 100. Follow-up period was defined as the time elapsed between the date of admission and the date of death or discharge.

We estimated the odds ratios (OR) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) — crude and adjusted —, using the logistic regression model since the variable defined as the study outcome is binary with the following categories: discharge and death from COVID-19. Variables with p<0.20 in the bivariate analysis were included in the multivariate model, and variables with p<0.05 were retained in the final model, except for gender, which was used for adjustment. The adequacy of the final model was verified by the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. All analyses were performed in the Stata software version 16.0 for Windows.

This study is part of the research project "Monitoring COVID-19 in Mato Grosso", approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (opinion no. 4,602,628/2021).

RESULTS

From March 2, 2020, to June 10, 2021, 60,244 individuals were hospitalized for COVID-19 in Mato Grosso; 34,416 (57.1%) of them had comorbidities, and among those, 1,125 (3.3%) had cancer. We excluded cancer patients transferred to other hospitals (96% to hospitals in the same state) since it could lead to duplicate data analysis; those who had no information on the progress of the case; and those who died for a cause other than COVID-19 (n=177). The first hospitalization of a cancer patient whose outcome was discharge or death occurred on April 8, 2020. Thus, the results of this study refer to 948 cancer patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and 327 deaths.

June to August 2020 and March and May 2021 were the months with the highest numbers of recorded hospitalizations for COVID-19 among cancer patients, with June 2020 and March 2021 as the months with the greatest numbers of reported deaths among cancer patients (Figure 1).

The mortality rate was 3.73 deaths/day (95%CI 3.35–4.16) among cancer patients hospitalized for COVID-19. The median time between admission and death was 18 days and ranged from one to 147 days. The mean age was 59.7 years (SD=19.7), ranging from 0 to 99 years, and was higher among those who died (65.5 years and SD=16.0) compared to those who were discharged (56.6 years and SD=20.7). When stratified by gender (Figure 2), the median age was greater among those who died for both genders (female: 64 years for death and 56 years for discharge; male: 69 years for death and 65 years for discharge).

The proportion of deaths was higher among male patients, those in older age groups (Table 1), with hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung disease, who were admitted directly to the ICU, required mechanical ventilation at admission, and in the first months of the pandemic (Table 2).

In the multivariate model, patients aged 60 years or older (OR=2.39; 95%CI 1.46–3.92), with chronic lung disease (OR=1.64; 95%CI 1.05–2.55), who were admitted directly to the ICU (OR=2.26; 95%CI 1.63–3.12), required mechanical ventilation at admission (OR=5.61; 95%CI 3.66–8.58), and were admitted from April to December 2020 and January to March 2021 were more likely to die (Table 3).

DISCUSSION

The proportion of deaths was high among cancer patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in Mato Grosso; older adult patients, those with chronic lung disease, and admitted in apparently worse clinical conditions had a higher chance of death, which was approximately twice as high for those admitted directly to the ICU and more than five times greater for those who required invasive mechanical ventilation at admission. In addition, we emphasize the greater likelihood of death in the months prior to the start of vaccination for this group in Mato Grosso.

Cancer patients are susceptible to severe complications from SARS-CoV-2 infection due to the immunosuppression caused by the disease or its treatment. Therefore, they are considered individuals at high risk of hospitalization and death in the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to patients without cancer, cancer patients have an eight times greater chance of death and three to five times greater chance of requiring mechanical ventilation and ICU hospitalization⁹9 Yang K, Sheng Y, Huang C, Jin Y, Xiong N, Jiang K, et al. Clinical characteristics, outcomes, and risk factors for mortality in patients with cancer and COVID-19 in Hubei, China: a multicentre, retrospective, cohort study. Lancet Oncol 2020;21(7):904-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30310-7
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30... ,¹³13 Denys A, Guiu B, Chevallier P, Digklia A, Kerviler E, Baere T. Interventional oncology at the time os COVID-19 pandemic: problems and solutions. Diagn Interv Imaging 2020;101(6):347-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diii.2020.04.005
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diii.2020.04.0... ,¹⁴14 Al-Quteimat OM, AMER AM. The impactof the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer patients. Am J Clin Oncol 2020;43(6):452-55. https://doi.org/101.1097/COC0000000000000712
https://doi.org/101.1097/COC000000000000... . A multicenter cohort study evaluating 2,215 adults in 65 hospitals in the United States for one month revealed that active cancer was associated with increased mortality¹⁵15 Gupta S, Hayek SS, Wang W, Chan L, Mathews KS, Melamed ML, et al. Factors associated with death in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in the US. JAMA Intern Med 2020;180(11):1436-47. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.3596
https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.20... . In contrast, Jarahzadeh et al.¹⁶16 Jarahzadeh MH, Asadian F, Farbod M, Meibodi B, Abbasi H, Jafari M, et al. Cancer and coronavirus disease (COVID-19): comorbidity, mechanical ventilation, and death risk. J Gastrointest Cancer 2021;52(1):80-4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-020-00529-2
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-020-00529... analyzed 12 cohort studies exclusively of SARS-CoV-2-infected cancer patients and found that these individuals had a lower risk of requiring mechanical ventilation or dying than those who did not have cancer.

Cancer encompasses several diseases, classified by subtypes and stages, which can lead to very different prognoses and outcomes. However, these particularities aside, during the COVID-19 pandemic, drastic changes occurred in the care of cancer patients, resulting in a decrease in or postponement of radiotherapy sessions, a switch from intravenous to oral chemotherapy regimens, and changes in the use of immunotherapy¹⁷17 Lee LYW, Cazier JB, Starky T, Briggs SEW, Arnold R, Bisht V, et al. COVID-19 prevalence and mortality in patients with cancer and the effect of primary tumour subtype and patient demographics: a prospective cohort study. Lancet Oncol 2020;21(10):1309-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30442-3
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30... . Studies point to the effects of the pandemic on the care of cancer patients, leading to increased mortality from the disease⁵5 Sharpless NE. COVID-19 and cancer. Science 2020;368(6497):1290. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd3377
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd3377... ,¹⁸18 Disis ML. Oncology and COVID-19. JAMA 2020;324(12):1141-2. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.16945
https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.16945... .

Concerning sociodemographic characteristics, the present study found a higher chance of in-hospital death among older patients (aged 60 years or older), similar to findings reported for the general population of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo¹⁹19 Escosteguy CC, Eleuterio TA, Pereira AGL, Marques MRVE, Brandão AD, Batista JPM. COVID-19: estudo seccional de casos suspeitos internados em um hospital federal do Rio de Janeiro e fatores associados ao óbito hospitalar. Epidemiol Serv Saude 2021;30(1):e2020750. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1679-49742021000100023
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1679-4974202100... ,²⁰20 Maciel EL, Jabor P, Goncalves Júnior E, Tristão-Sá R, Lima RCD, Reis-Santos B, et al. Fatores associados ao óbito hospitalar por COVID-19 no Espírito Santo, 2020. Epidemiol Serv Saúde 2020;29(4):e2020413. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1679-49742020000400022
https://doi.org/10.1590/s1679-4974202000... and for cancer patients of both genders hospitalized in the United Kingdom²¹21 Lee LYW, Cazier JB, Angelis V, Arnold R, Bisht V, Campton NA, et al. COVID-19 mortality in patients with cancer on chemotherapy or other anticancer treatments: a prospective cohort study. Lancet 2020;395(10241):1919-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31173-9
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31... . Nonetheless, a study of women with cancer in Pernambuco did not find this association¹⁰10 Galindo RJSC, Andrade LB, Sena GR, Nogueira LRM, Lima TPF, Lima JTO, et al. Mulheres com câncer e COVID-19: uma análise da letalidade e aspectos clínicos em Pernambuco. Rev Bras Saude Mater Infant 2021;21(Supl 1):S167-75. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9304202100S100008
https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9304202100S... . As for gender, although the proportion of deaths was higher among men, this association did not remain significant in the adjusted model, unlike some studies, such as those by Gupta et al.¹⁵15 Gupta S, Hayek SS, Wang W, Chan L, Mathews KS, Melamed ML, et al. Factors associated with death in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in the US. JAMA Intern Med 2020;180(11):1436-47. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.3596
https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.20... and Lee et al.²¹21 Lee LYW, Cazier JB, Angelis V, Arnold R, Bisht V, Campton NA, et al. COVID-19 mortality in patients with cancer on chemotherapy or other anticancer treatments: a prospective cohort study. Lancet 2020;395(10241):1919-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31173-9
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31... , who found, after adjustments, a higher likelihood of death from COVID-19 in the male population and among male cancer patients, respectively.

The months of hospitalization prior to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 were associated with a higher chance of death among hospitalized cancer patients, which can be explained not only by the higher susceptibility of this risk group, still without the vaccine, but also by the inadequate care in health services during periods of high demand from COVID-19 cases. Like many Brazilian states, Mato Grosso has gone through periods of collapse of health services, with patients having to wait for ICU beds. From June to July 2020 and February to May 2021, the occupancy rate of COVID-19-dedicated beds remained above 90%, as indicated in several publications by the COVID-19 Observatory, from Fundação Oswaldo Cruz²²22 Ministério da Saúde. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Observatório Covid-19 – Boletim Extraordinário de 30 de julho de 2021. Available at: https://portal.fiocruz.br/sites/portal.fiocruz.br/files/documentos/boletim_covid_2021_extraordinario_30dejunho.pdf
https://portal.fiocruz.br/sites/portal.f... , and the COVID-19 Panel, from SES-MT²³23 Governo do Estado de Mato Grosso. Secretaria do Estado de Saúde. Informes. Painel informativo Covid-19. Available at: http://www.saude.mt.gov.br/informe/584
http://www.saude.mt.gov.br/informe/584... . The same pattern was observed in the analysis of the first 250 thousand hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Brazil, with greater in-hospital mortality during weeks with high admission rates, especially in the North, Midwest, and South regions²⁴24 Ranzani OT, Bastos LSL, Gelli JGM, Marchesi JF, Baião F, Hamacher S, et al. Characterisation of the first 250,000 hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Brazil : a retrospective analysis of nationwide data. Lancet Respir Med 2021;9(4):407-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30560-9
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30... .

Chronic lung disease was positively associated with death from COVID-19 in the present study. The predisposition of cancer patients to a higher incidence of cardiovascular and lung diseases can affect the severity of the coronavirus infection¹⁸18 Disis ML. Oncology and COVID-19. JAMA 2020;324(12):1141-2. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.16945
https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.16945... . Among patients hospitalized in Rio de Janeiro¹⁹19 Escosteguy CC, Eleuterio TA, Pereira AGL, Marques MRVE, Brandão AD, Batista JPM. COVID-19: estudo seccional de casos suspeitos internados em um hospital federal do Rio de Janeiro e fatores associados ao óbito hospitalar. Epidemiol Serv Saude 2021;30(1):e2020750. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1679-49742021000100023
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1679-4974202100... and Espírito Santo²⁰20 Maciel EL, Jabor P, Goncalves Júnior E, Tristão-Sá R, Lima RCD, Reis-Santos B, et al. Fatores associados ao óbito hospitalar por COVID-19 no Espírito Santo, 2020. Epidemiol Serv Saúde 2020;29(4):e2020413. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1679-49742020000400022
https://doi.org/10.1590/s1679-4974202000... , comorbidity was positively associated with in-hospital mortality from COVID-19, with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes as the most prevalent. In Pernambuco, a study evaluated the case fatality rate of COVID-19 among women with cancer and showed that approximately 40% presented other comorbidities, especially cardiovascular diseases (27.9%) and diabetes (13.2%)¹⁰10 Galindo RJSC, Andrade LB, Sena GR, Nogueira LRM, Lima TPF, Lima JTO, et al. Mulheres com câncer e COVID-19: uma análise da letalidade e aspectos clínicos em Pernambuco. Rev Bras Saude Mater Infant 2021;21(Supl 1):S167-75. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9304202100S100008
https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9304202100S... .

Patients admitted directly to the ICU or who required invasive mechanical ventilation at admission had a higher chance of death. International studies report high mortality rates, relating them to ICU hospitalization and the use of mechanical ventilation²⁵25 Auld SC, Caridi-Scheible M, Blum JM, Robichaux C, Kraft C, Jacob JT, et al. ICU and ventilator mortality among critically ill adults with coronavirus disease 2019. Crit Care Med 2020;48(9):e799-e804. https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000004457
https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.000000000000... ,²⁶26 Clark A, Jit M, Warren-Gash C, Guthrie B, Wang HHX, Mercer SW, et al. Global, regional, and national estimates of the population at increased risk of severe COVID-19 due to underlying health conditions in 2020: a modelling study. Lancet Glob Health 2020;8(8):e1003-e1017. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30264-3
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30... , a fact that demonstrates the clinical progression toward severe forms of the disease, with respiratory failure. In Brazil, admission directly to the ICU was higher in the North and Southeast regions compared to the Midwest Region, with an overall mortality rate of 59% in patients admitted to the ICU and 80% in those who required mechanical ventilation²⁵25 Auld SC, Caridi-Scheible M, Blum JM, Robichaux C, Kraft C, Jacob JT, et al. ICU and ventilator mortality among critically ill adults with coronavirus disease 2019. Crit Care Med 2020;48(9):e799-e804. https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000004457
https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.000000000000... .

Although the cancer patients’ macroregions of residence did not remain associated with the likelihood of death, we highlight the heterogeneity of the health care system for severe cases of COVID-19 in Mato Grosso, which can be a significant barrier to equitable access to health care for patients in general. All state macroregions had ICU beds dedicated to the care of severe cases of COVID-19; however, more than half of these beds were located in the metropolitan area; in mid-2020, only nine out of the 141 municipalities had this type of dedicated bed²⁷27 Muraro AP, Santos ES, Oliveira LR, Ceconello MS, Silva RCR. Demanda por UTIs em Mato Grosso em decorrência da pandemia da Covid-19: situação e projeção para as macrorregiões de saúde. Nota Técnica. Cuiabá: Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso; 2020. Available at: https://cms.ufmt.br/files/galleries/50/COVID/saude%20coletiva/NotaTecnica-DemandaporUTIsemMatoGrossoCovid-19.pdf
https://cms.ufmt.br/files/galleries/50/C... , a number that increased to 19 in June 2021, according to state bulletins²³23 Governo do Estado de Mato Grosso. Secretaria do Estado de Saúde. Informes. Painel informativo Covid-19. Available at: http://www.saude.mt.gov.br/informe/584
http://www.saude.mt.gov.br/informe/584... . In the Midwest Region, 52% of ICU beds are located in capitals²⁴24 Ranzani OT, Bastos LSL, Gelli JGM, Marchesi JF, Baião F, Hamacher S, et al. Characterisation of the first 250,000 hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Brazil : a retrospective analysis of nationwide data. Lancet Respir Med 2021;9(4):407-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30560-9
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30... .

Even though we used an official source of SES-MT secondary data — very useful for the epidemiological description of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19 in Mato Grosso —, some study limitations stand out, including the lack of socioeconomic variables, such as schooling and income, and those related to clinical aspects, such as length of stay in each type of hospitalization unit and the use of mechanical ventilation.

Also, despite the relevance of identifying the main comorbidities among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in Mato Grosso, the data provided did not include details about cancer, such as incident or recurrent cancer, its typology, staging, and treatment. For instance, a Chinese study with national representation by Liang et al.²⁸28 Liang W, Guan W, Chen R, Wang W, Li J, Xu K, et al. Cancer patients in SARS-CoV-2 infection: a nationwide analysis in China. Lancet Oncol 2020;21(3):335-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30096-6
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30... identified cancer and other comorbidities among Chinese patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and revealed that although lung cancer was the most frequent type, it did not present a higher probability of severe events than other types of cancer, with advanced age being the only associated risk factor.

Despite concerns about complications related to cancer treatment, Vos et al.²⁹29 Vos D, Smith DA, Martin S, Tirumani SH, Ramaiya NH. COVID-19 infection in the cancer population: a study of emergency department imaging utilization and findings. Emerg Radiol 2021;28(6):1073-81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-021-01983-6
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-021-01983... revealed that imaging findings or hospitalizations of patients with cancer and COVID-19 are predominantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection rather than their cancer history or the status of cancer treatment. We also underline the quality of data from the IndicaSUS System for inpatients. As proposed by Romero and Cunha³⁰30 Romero DE, Cunha CB. Avaliação da qualidade das variáveis sócio-econômicas e demográficas dos óbitos de crianças menores de um ano registrados no Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade do Brasil (1996/2001). Cad Saúde Pública 2006;22(3):673-84. http://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2006000300022
http://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2006000... , the variables used were classified for health information systems and presented excellent quality, with less than 5% incompleteness, except for the variable ethnicity/skin color, which presented 17.9%, a value considered regular. Although health information systems have improved, the completeness of the variable ethnicity/skin color still has low quality³¹31 Braz RM, Oliveira PTR, Reis AT, Machado NMS. Avaliação da completude da variável raça/cor nos sistemas nacionais de informação em saúde para aferição da equidade étnico-racial em indicadores usados pelo Índice de Desempenho do Sistema Único de Saúde. Saúde Debate 2013,37(99):554-62..

This study identified demographic and clinical factors associated with death from COVID-19 in cancer patients, which, albeit little explored in the literature, can contribute to improving care for this type of patient during the pandemic, which persists. Additional assessments are required to determine the clinical consequences, if any, of treatment interruptions, changes, or delayed cancer diagnoses for cancer patients due to the social distancing imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. To mitigate the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these patients, we will need different strategies to manage the backlog in diagnostic and treatment services for people with cancer in the state.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank SES-MT for providing anonymous data of inpatients registered in IndicaSUS.

REFERENCES

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