SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Patients With Cancer at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Wuhan, China
Jing Yu, MD1,2,3; Wen Ouyang, MD1,2,3; Melvin L. K. Chua, MBBS, PhD1,4,5; et alConghua Xie, MD1,2,3
Author Affiliations Article Information
JAMA Oncol. Published online March 25, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2020.0980
In December 2019, an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, Hubei, which has been linked to the severe adult respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is characterized by rapid human-to-human transmission from droplet contamination.1,2 A report of 138 hospitalized patients from a single institution (Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University) indicated that hospital-acquired transmission accounted for 41.3% of these admitted patients, thus implicating the hospital environment as a source of spread of the virus.3 Patients with cancer are often recalled to the hospital for treatment and monitoring, and hence, they may be at risk of contracting COVID-19. Moreover, cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are immunosuppressive. Here, we report the incidence and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cancer patients who were treated at a tertiary cancer institution in Wuhan.
