Simultaneous Onset of Haematological Malignancy and COVID: An Epicovideha Survey

Authors	CATTANEO Chiara SALMANTON-GARCIA Jon MARCHESI Francesco EL-ASHWAH Shaimaa ITRI Federico WEINBERGEROVÁ Barbora GOMES Da Silva Maria DARGENIO Michelina DAVILA-VALLS Julio MARTIN-PEREZ Sonia FARINA Francesca JAAP Van Doesum VALKOVIC Toni BESSON Caroline POULSEN Christian Bjorn LOPEZ-GARCIA Alberto ZAK Pavel SCHONLEIN Martin PIUKOVICS Klara JAKSIC Ozren CABIRTA Alba ALI Natasha SILI Uluhan FRACCHIOLLA Nicola DRAGONETTI Giulia ADZIC-VUKICEVIC Tatjana MARCHETTI Monia MACHADO Marina GLENTHOJ Andreas FINIZIO Olimpia DEMIRKAN Fatih BLENNOW Ola TISI Maria Chiara OMRANI Ali S NAVRATIL Milan RACIL Zdenek NOVAK Jan MAGLIANO Gabriele JIMENEZ Moraima GARCIA-VIDAL Carolina ERBEN Nurettin ILARIA Del Principe Maria BUQUICCHIO Caterina BERGANTIM Rui BATINIC Josip AL-KHABORI Murtadha VERGA Luisa SZOTKOWSKI Tomas SAMARKOS Michail ORMAZABAL-VELEZ Irati MEERS Stef MAERTENS Johan PINCZES Laszlo Imre HOENIGL Martin DRGONA Lubos CUCCARO Annarosa BILGIN Yavuz M AUJAYEB Avinash RAHIMLI Laman GRAFE Stefanie SCIUME Mariarita MLADENOVIC Milos COLAK Gokce Melis SACCHI Maria Vittoria NORDLANDER Anna VENEMYR Caroline Berg HANAKOVA Michaela GARCIA-POUTON Nicole EMARAH Ziad ZAMBROTTA Giovanni Paolo Maria RODRIGUES Raquel Nunes CORDOBA Raul MENDEZ Gustavo-Adolfo BIERNAT Monika M CORNELY Oliver A PAGANO Livio
Year of publication	2022
Type	Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source	Cancers
MU Faculty or unit	Faculty of Medicine
Citation
web	https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/14/22/5530
Doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers14225530
Keywords	haematological malignancy onset; COVID-19; treatment; outcome; prognostic factors
Description	Simple Summary Patients with simultaneous diagnosis of haematological malignancies (HM) and COVID-19 are an even greater challenge for hematologists. To better clarify their outcome, we describe the clinical features and outcome of a cohort of 450 patients with simultaneous diagnosis of HM and COVID-19 registered in the EPICOVIDEHA registry between March 2020 to February 2022. Overall, 343 (76.2%) patients received treatment for HM, and an overall response rate was observed in 140 (40.8%) patients after the first line of treatment. Thirty-day mortality was significantly higher in patients not receiving HM treatment (42.1%) than in those receiving treatment (27.4%, p = 0.004). Statistical analysis showed that, together with age, severe/critical COVID-19, >= 2 comorbidities, lack of HM treatment was an independent risk factors for mortality. These observations suggest the importance of HM treatment in these patients; therefore, it should be delivered as soon as possible for patients requiring immediate therapy. Background: The outcome of patients with simultaneous diagnosis of haematological malignancies (HM) and COVID-19 is unknown and there are no specific treatment guidelines. Methods: We describe the clinical features and outcome of a cohort of 450 patients with simultaneous diagnosis of HM and COVID-19 registered in the EPICOVIDEHA registry between March 2020 to February 2022. Results: Acute leukaemia and lymphoma were the most frequent HM (35.8% and 35.1%, respectively). Overall, 343 (76.2%) patients received treatment for HM, which was delayed for longer than one month since diagnosis in 57 (16.6%). An overall response rate was observed in 140 (40.8%) patients after the first line of treatment. After a median follow-up of 35 days, overall mortality was 177/450 (39.3%); 30-day mortality was significantly higher in patients not receiving HM treatment (42.1%) than in those receiving treatment (27.4%, p = 0.004), either before and/or after COVID-19, or compared to patients receiving HM treatment at least after COVID-19 (15.2%, p < 0.001). Age, severe/critical COVID-19, >= 2 comorbidities, and lack of HM treatment were independent risk factors for mortality, whereas a lymphocyte count >500/mcl at COVID-19 onset was protective. Conclusions: HM treatment should be delivered as soon as possible for patients with simultaneous diagnosis of COVID-19 and HM requiring immediate therapy.