COVID‐19 infection in patients with haematological malignancies: A single‐centre survey in the latest Omicron wave in China

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 19 , caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. Later in November 2021, the Omicron variant with enhanced immune escape was first reported from Botswana and thereafter from South Africa with an increased infection. 1,2 The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BF.7 (BA.5.2.1.7), a subvariant of BA.5, has been responsible for the ongoing resurgence of cases since late September 2022 in China. 3,4 The mutations in the BF.7 variant spike glycoprotein, particularly those in the receptor-binding domain have been associated with an increased immune escape capability to neutralize antibodies generated by vaccines or previous infection. 5,6 As a result, COVID-19 infection with BF.7 variant may cause a serious illness in populations with weaker immune systems such as the elderly and those suffering from concomitant comorbidities. However, detailed evidence on the effect on patients with haematological malignancies

Outcomes of COVID‐19 in patients with lymphomas participating in registered clinical trials: A real‐world study from China in the Omicron outbreak era

“…In our study, more severe/critical (4/42, 9.5% vs. 5.5% overall) COVID‐19 cases were observed in patients with comorbidities (≥1). Similar findings were reported by Duléry 16 and Zhu et al 14 . Together with our data, these findings highlight that more attention should be paid to elderly lymphoma patients and frail patients with comorbidities diagnosed with COVID‐19 in registered clinical trials.…”

“…We selected the severity of COVID‐19 as the primary outcome in this study, and three significant risk factors were identified, including age ≥70 years, comorbidities, and PI3Ki‐containing regimens. Most previous studies 14,16,21 have revealed that elderly HM patients were more likely to have unfavorable outcomes of COVID‐19, including severe/critical illness, prolonged in‐hospital stay, and death. In our study, more severe/critical (4/42, 9.5% vs. 5.5% overall) COVID‐19 cases were observed in patients with comorbidities (≥1).…”

“…conducted a retrospective study to assess the outcomes of HM patients with COVID‐19. In that study, only 52 lymphoma patients were included with two severe/critical cases of COVID‐19 (2/51, 3.9%), while no death was observed 14 . However, the impact of relevant data, such as pathological subtypes of lymphoma and different therapeutic approaches, was not discussed explicitly in that study.…”

“…conducted a retrospective, observational study of COVID‐19 patients with HMs in Beijing in the latest Omicron wave. They demonstrated that the rate of severe/critical COVID‐19 was 5.3%, and the mortality rate was 2.2%, 14 much lower than that of the HM patient population reported in the early stage of the COVID‐19 pandemic 15 . Till now, only a few studies reported the impact of the Omicron variant of SARS‐CoV‐2 on the clinical outcome of HM patients.…”

Antibody responses to SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron infection in patients with hematological malignancies: A multicenter, prospective cohort study

“…Omicron's hospitalization rate and mortality rate decreased significantly in the immunocompetent population, 2,3 it remains a fatal threat to patients with immunocompromised hematological malignancies (HM). 4 The overall mortality rate of Omicron infection was 16.5% among hospitalized HM patients according to the "EPICOV-IDEHA survey report," 5 significantly higher than that observed in the general population. [6][7][8] Additionally, new immune-evading subvariants of Omicron continue to emerge, 9,10 increasing the risk of reinfection.…”