SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and seroconversion in patients undergoing active cancer-directed therapy

Sun, L.; Surya, S.; G., N.; Le, A. N.; Kelly, G.; Owoyemi, O.; Desai, H.; Zheng, C.; DeLuca, S.; Good, M. L.; Hussain, J.; Jeffries, S. D.; Kry, Y. R.; Kugler, E. M.; Mansour, M.; Ndicu, J.; Osei-Akoto, A.; Prior, T.; Pundock, S. L.; Varughese, L. A.; Weaver, J.; Doucette, A.; Dudek, S.; Verma, S. S.; Gouma, S.; Weirick, M. E.; McAllister, C. M.; Bange, E.; Gabriel, P.; Ritchie, M.; Rader, D. J.; Vonderheide, R. H.; Schuchter, L. M.; Verma, A.; Maillard, I.; Mamtani, R.; Hensley, S. E.; Gross, R.; Wileyto, E. P.; Huang, A. C.; Maxwell, K. N.; DeMichele, A.

Multiple studies have demonstrated the negative impact of cancer care delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, and transmission mitigation techniques are imperative for continued cancer care delivery. To gauge the effectiveness of these measures at the University of Pennsylvania, we conducted a longitudinal study of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seropositivity and seroconversion in patients presenting to infusion centers for cancer-directed therapy between 5/21/2020 and 10/8/2020. Participants completed questionnaires and had up to five serial blood collections. Of 124 enrolled patients, only two (1.6%) had detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies on initial blood draw, and no initially seronegative patients developed newly detectable antibodies on subsequent blood draw(s), corresponding to a seroconversion rate of 0% (95%CI 0.0-4.1%) over 14.8 person-years of follow up, with a median of 13 healthcare visits per patient. These results suggest that cancer patients receiving in-person care at a facility with aggressive mitigation efforts have an extremely low likelihood of COVID-19 infection.