Excess mortality in a nationwide cohort of cancer patients during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium

Abstract

Background: Most studies investigating the impact of coronavirus infectious disease-19 (COVID-19) on mortality among patients with cancer were performed in a hospital setting, and the evidence is thus based on a selected and frail subset of patients. This study evaluates the excess mortality during the first wave of COVID-19 in a nationwide, prevalent cancer cohort in Belgium. Methods: Mortality was studied among almost 240, 000 patients with cancer diagnosed between 2013 and 2018 and alive on January 1, 2020. The observed number of deaths in the months January to June 2020 was compared with the expected number of deaths applying the monthly mortality rates observed in the cancer cohort during the previous years. A comparison using the excess mortality rates from the general population was performed. Results: An excess number of deaths of about 400 was observed in the month of April, coinciding with a peak of COVID-19 diagnoses in Belgium and corresponding to a 33% rise in mortality. A comparable number of excess deaths was estimated if the COVID-19 excess mortality rates from the general Belgian population were applied to the cancer cohort, stratified by age and sex. Conclusions: A considerable excess mortality in the Belgian cancer cohort was observed during the initial peak of COVID-19 in Belgium. The pattern of excess mortality was, however, not markedly different from that observed in the general population. Impact: These results suggest that the susceptibility of prevalent cancer patients to COVID-19-induced mortality during the first wave of the pandemic was comparable with the general population.