Long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for patients with cancer

Since the outbreak in Wuhan (China) at the end of 2019, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused instability at various levels of society.

While most patients completely recover from their SARS-CoV-2 infection, 10–20% of infected persons and up to 60% of infected patients with cancer develop long COVID.

Long COVID is defined as the continuation of symptoms, which cannot be explained by alternative causes, that last longer than four weeks after initial infection.

Even though it is generally accepted that patients with cancer are at increased risk of developing severe COVID-19, it is still unclear how long COVID manifests and whether long COVID impacts quality of life in this cohort.

Hence, this study observed that patients with cancer reported a negative impact of the enforced COVID-19 restrictions on the emotional and psychological wellbeing.

While patients with cancer experience similar long COVID symptoms as healthy controls, the prevalence is remarkably higher possibly due to their compromised immune system and weakened physiological reserve.

Introduction: Long COVID is defined as the continuation of symptoms, unexplainable by alternative diagnosis, longer than four weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

These symptoms might hinder daily activities and overall well-being, ultimately impacting quality of life (QoL).

Several studies have reported fatigue as the most common symptom, followed by dyspnoea, headache and myalgia.

Although it is assumed that long COVID affects 10–20% of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals, recently numbers up to 60% were described for patients with cancer.

This study uncovers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on QoL of patients with cancer and how long COVID manifests in this cohort.

Methods: A group of 96 patients with cancer was followed from March 2022 till March 2023.

Online questionnaires assessing symptoms associated with long COVID, anxiety and depression (HADS), quality of life (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and cognitive functioning (CFQ) were sent every three months during this period.

Furthermore, a semi-structured focus group was organised for qualitative data collection.

Results: Overall, these patients reported a negative impact of the enforced COVID-19 restrictions on the emotional and psychological wellbeing.

Forty nine patients with cancer (51.0%) were infected with SARS-CoV-2 over the course of the study, of which 39 (79.6%) reported long COVID symptoms.

The most commonly reported symptoms were myalgia (46.2%), fatigue (38.5%) and disturbed sleep (35.9%) and it was observed that male sex is associated with poor long COVID outcomes.

Conclusion: While patients with cancer experience similar long COVID symptoms as healthy controls, the prevalence is remarkably higher possibly due to their compromised immune system and weakened physiological reserve.