FDA, Syapse real-world study reveal higher risk of hospitalization and death among cancer patients with COVID-19, underscore health disparities

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The FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence and Syapse presented data at the American Association of Clinical Research COVID-19 and Cancer meeting on an analysis of more than 212,000 health records of people living with cancer across two major health systems in the Midwestern United States.

The analysis found that cancer patients who also had COVID-19 are more likely—compared to those without COVID-19—to have: (1) other health conditions (e.g., kidney failure, obesity and heart disease), (2) increased rates of hospitalization and invasive mechanical ventilation, and (3) a 16-fold increased mortality risk. The researchers also underscored evidence for health care disparities among cancer patients with COVID-19.

This presentation is part of OCE’s partnerships with experts in healthcare data and analytics to investigate characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with cancer who are infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

This work builds upon several initiatives underway across FDA that leverage real-world data to improve understanding of COVID-19. These efforts include FDA’s participation in the COVID-19 Evidence Accelerator, organized by the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA in collaboration with Friends of Cancer Research.

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