Increased Hospitalization and Mortality from COVID-19 in Prostate Cancer Patients

Chakravarty, Dimple; Ratnani, Parita; Sobotka, Stanislaw; Lundon, Dara; Wiklund, Peter; Nair, Sujit S.; Tewari, Ashutosh K.

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a remarkable and insurmountable effect on humankind. The SARS-Co-V2 infection results in a life-threatening situation, particularly in people at risk of severe infection, including those of old age, with comorbidities, and of the male gender. Prostate cancer (PCa), the most common cancer in men, shares several risk factors with COVID-19. Our study’s aim in 286,609 patients was to assess if men with prostate cancer and SARS-Co-V2 infection have poor clinical outcomes compared with patients with non-prostate GU malignancies. We confirmed that prostate cancer patients with COVID-19 had higher hospitalization and mortality rates. Among the comorbidities reported, prostate cancer patients with diabetes had a higher likelihood of being hospitalized, while COVID-19-positive prostate cancer patients with COPD had higher mortality rates. In summary, the work presented here advocates for better management of COVID-19 in prostate cancer patients, including vaccine prioritization. ABSTRACT: Background: Cancer patients with COVID-19 have a poor disease course. Among tumor types, prostate cancer and COVID-19 share several risk factors, and the interaction of prostate cancer and COVID-19 is purported to have an adverse outcome. Methods: This was a single-institution retrospective study on 286,609 patients who underwent the COVID-19 test at Mount Sinai Hospital system from March 2020 to December 2020. Chi-square/Fisher’s exact tests were used to summarize baseline characteristics of categorical data, and Mann–Whitney U test was used for continuous variables. Univariable logistic regression analysis to compare the hospitalization and mortality rates and the strength of association was obtained by the odds ratio and confidence interval. Results: This study aimed to compare hospitalization and mortality rates between men with COVID-19 and prostate cancer and those who were COVID-19-positive with non-prostate genitourinary malignancy or any solid cancer, and with breast cancer patients. We also compared our studies to others that reported the incidence and severity of COVID-19 in prostate cancer patients. Our studies highlight that patients with prostate cancer had higher susceptibility to COVID-19-related pathogenesis, resulting in higher mortality and hospitalization rates. Hospitalization and mortality rates were higher in prostate cancer patients with COVID-19 when compared with COVID-19 patients with non-prostate genitourinary (GU) malignancies.