Polimera, Hyma

Abstract Abstract Introduction: Leukemia, a heterogeneous group of hematologic malignancies, has established associations with modifiable risk factors such as tobacco use. Despite the widespread implementation of tobacco control measures over the past three decades, disparities persist in tobacco-attributable leukemia mortality across sex and socio- demographic strata. This study aimed to quantify and compare long-term global and regional trends in mortality due to tobacco-associated leukemia between 1990 and 2021, with a focus on sex-based and income-level disparities. Methods: We obtained age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) for leukemia attributable to tobacco use from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 dataset for 204 countries and territories. ASMRs were analyzed for the years 1990 and 2021 and stratified by sex (male, female, both) and socio-demographic index (SDI) regions (high, high-middle, middle, low- middle, low). Temporal trends were assessed using Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). Additionally, univariate linear regressions by location were conducted to quantify associations between time and mortality. Results: Globally, tobacco-related leukemia mortality decreased substantially between 1990 and 2021. The overall ASMR declined from 0.64 to 0.40 per 100,000 population (AAPC: –1.51%; 95% CI: –1.59 to –1.43). Sex-disaggregated data revealed a more favorable reduction in females (from 0.23 to 0.12; AAPC: –2.25%; 95% CI: –2.41 to –2.09) compared to males (from 1.20 to 0.77; AAPC: –1.45%; 95% CI: –1.51 to –1.39), suggesting persistent gender disparities in tobacco exposure and/or access to care. These trends were statistically significant (p < 0.001), and global univariate regression confirmed a significant negative slope (–0.0088; p = 0.021). Marked regional differences emerged by SDI status. High-SDI countries experienced the steepest declines in mortality. In these regions, ASMRs dropped from 1.16 to 0.69 among both sexes combined (AAPC: –1.70%; 95% CI: –1.80 to –1.61), with females improving from 0.56 to 0.31 (AAPC: –1.90%; 95% CI: –2.03 to –1.76) and males from 2.07 to 1.17 (AAPC: –1.88%; 95% CI: –1.96 to –1.80). The associated regression slope (–0.0183) was statistically significant (p = 0.0014), with an R² of 0.10, indicating a strong temporal association. High-middle SDI regions showed moderate progress: ASMRs declined from 0.62 to 0.45 among both sexes (AAPC: –0.99%; 95% CI: –1.10 to –0.88). Reductions were steeper in females (0.12 to 0.07; AAPC: –1.32%; 95% CI: –1.55 to –1.09) than in males (1.40 to 0.96; AAPC –1.19%; 95% CI: –1.29 to –1.09). However, regression slopes were not statistically significant (p = 0.18), suggesting heterogeneous trends within this group. Low-SDI regions, in stark contrast, exhibited minimal improvements. Between 1990 and 2021, ASMRs decreased marginally from 0.098 to 0.074 (AAPC: –1.01%; 95% CI: –1.10 to –0.91), with male mortality decreasing from 0.17 to 0.12 (AAPC: –1.22%; 95% CI: –1.32 to –1.13) and female rates from 0.037 to 0.027 (AAPC: –0.88%; 95% CI: –1.04 to –0.72). However, the regression slope (–0.00084) was not statistically significant (p = 0.17), and the effect size (R² = 0.02) suggested only a weak temporal association. Middle and low-middle SDI countries also demonstrated underwhelming progress. In low- middle SDI settings, the combined-sex ASMR dropped from 0.21 to 0.16 per 100,000, with a weak negative slope (–0.0012; p = 0.43), and an AAPC of –0.83% (95% CI: –0.95 to –0.71). These results highlight stagnation and growing inequities in health burden mitigation. Conclusion: From 1990 to 2021, global mortality due to tobacco-attributable leukemia significantly declined, with the greatest improvements seen in high-SDI countries and among females. However, regions with lower income levels lagged, showing minimal or no significant decline in mortality despite decades of global tobacco control efforts. The pronounced disparities by sex and socioeconomic status underscore the need for context- specific, equity-focused tobacco cessation initiatives and leukemia screening programs, especially in underserved populations. Without urgent intervention, the global burden of leukemia attributable to tobacco may continue to disproportionately affect those with the fewest resources and weakest health infrastructure.

Background: Limited information is available for patients with breast cancer (BC) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially among underrepresented racial/ethnic populations. Methods: This is a COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) registry-based retrospective cohort study of females with active or history of BC and laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection diagnosed between March 2020 and June 2021 in the US. Primary outcome was COVID-19 severity measured on a five-level ordinal scale, including none of the following complications, hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, and all-cause mortality. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression model identified characteristics associated with COVID-19 severity. Results: 1383 female patient records with BC and COVID-19 were included in the analysis, the median age was 61 years, and median follow-up was 90 days. Multivariable analysis revealed higher odds of COVID-19 severity for older age (aOR per decade, 1.48 [95% CI, 1.32–1.67]); Black patients (aOR 1.74; 95 CI 1.24–2.45), Asian Americans and Pacific Islander patients (aOR 3.40; 95 CI 1.70–6.79) and Other (aOR 2.97; 95 CI 1.71–5.17) racial/ethnic groups; worse ECOG performance status (ECOG PS ≥2: aOR, 7.78 [95% CI, 4.83–12.5]); pre-existing cardiovascular (aOR, 2.26 [95% CI, 1.63–3.15])/pulmonary comorbidities (aOR, 1.65 [95% CI, 1.20–2.29]); diabetes mellitus (aOR, 2.25 [95% CI, 1.66–3.04]); and active and progressing cancer (aOR, 12.5 [95% CI, 6.89–22.6]). Hispanic ethnicity, timing, and type of anti-cancer therapy modalities were not significantly associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes. The total all-cause mortality and hospitalization rate for the entire cohort was 9% and 37%, respectively however, it varied according to the BC disease status. Conclusions: Using one of the largest registries on cancer and COVID-19, we identified patient and BC-related factors associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes. After adjusting for baseline characteristics, underrepresented racial/ethnic patients experienced worse outcomes compared to non-Hispanic White patients. Funding: This study was partly supported by National Cancer Institute grant number P30 CA068485 to Tianyi Sun, Sanjay Mishra, Benjamin French, Jeremy L Warner; P30-CA046592 to Christopher R Friese; P30 CA023100 for Rana R McKay; P30-CA054174 for Pankil K Shah and Dimpy P Shah; KL2 TR002646 for Pankil Shah and the American Cancer Society and Hope Foundation for Cancer Research (MRSG-16-152-01-CCE) and P30-CA054174 for Dimpy P Shah. REDCap is developed and supported by Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research grant support (UL1 TR000445 from NCATS/NIH). The funding sources had no role in the writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit it for publication. Clinical trial number: CCC19 registry is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04354701 .

ImportanceSystematic data on the association between anticancer therapies and thromboembolic events (TEEs) in patients with COVID-19 are lacking.ObjectiveTo assess the association between anticancer therapy exposure within 3 months prior to COVID-19 and TEEs following COVID-19 diagnosis in patients with cancer.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis registry-based retrospective cohort study included patients who were hospitalized and had active cancer and laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Data were accrued from March 2020 to December 2021 and analyzed from December 2021 to October 2022.ExposureTreatments of interest (TOIs) (endocrine therapy, vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors/tyrosine kinase inhibitors [VEGFis/TKIs], immunomodulators [IMiDs], immune checkpoint inhibitors [ICIs], chemotherapy) vs reference (no systemic therapy) in 3 months prior to COVID-19.Main Outcomes and MeasuresMain outcomes were (1) venous thromboembolism (VTE) and (2) arterial thromboembolism (ATE). Secondary outcome was severity of COVID-19 (rates of intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, 30-day all-cause mortality following TEEs in TOI vs reference group) at 30-day follow-up.ResultsOf 4988 hospitalized patients with cancer (median [IQR] age, 69 [59-78] years; 2608 [52%] male), 1869 had received 1 or more TOIs. Incidence of VTE was higher in all TOI groups: endocrine therapy, 7%; VEGFis/TKIs, 10%; IMiDs, 8%; ICIs, 12%; and chemotherapy, 10%, compared with patients not receiving systemic therapies (6%). In multivariable log-binomial regression analyses, relative risk of VTE (adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 1.33; 95% CI, 1.04-1.69) but not ATE (aRR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.56-1.16) was significantly higher in those exposed to all TOIs pooled together vs those with no exposure. Among individual drugs, ICIs were significantly associated with VTE (aRR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.01-2.07). Also noted were significant associations between VTE and active and progressing cancer (aRR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.01-2.03), history of VTE (aRR, 3.10; 95% CI, 2.38-4.04), and high-risk site of cancer (aRR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.14-1.75). Black patients had a higher risk of TEEs (aRR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.03-1.50) than White patients. Patients with TEEs had high intensive care unit admission (46%) and mechanical ventilation (31%) rates. Relative risk of death in patients with TEEs was higher in those exposed to TOIs vs not (aRR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.91-1.38) and was significantly associated with poor performance status (aRR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.30-2.40) and active/progressing cancer (aRR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.13-2.13).Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cohort study, relative risk of developing VTE was high among patients receiving TOIs and varied by the type of therapy, underlying risk factors, and demographics, such as race and ethnicity. These findings highlight the need for close monitoring and perhaps personalized thromboprophylaxis to prevent morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19–related thromboembolism in patients with cancer.

ImportanceCytokine storm due to COVID-19 can cause high morbidity and mortality and may be more common in patients with cancer treated with immunotherapy (IO) due to immune system activation.ObjectiveTo determine the association of baseline immunosuppression and/or IO-based therapies with COVID-19 severity and cytokine storm in patients with cancer.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis registry-based retrospective cohort study included 12 046 patients reported to the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) registry from March 2020 to May 2022. The CCC19 registry is a centralized international multi-institutional registry of patients with COVID-19 with a current or past diagnosis of cancer. Records analyzed included patients with active or previous cancer who had a laboratory-confirmed infection with SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction and/or serologic findings.ExposuresImmunosuppression due to therapy; systemic anticancer therapy (IO or non-IO).Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary outcome was a 5-level ordinal scale of COVID-19 severity: no complications; hospitalized without requiring oxygen; hospitalized and required oxygen; intensive care unit admission and/or mechanical ventilation; death. The secondary outcome was the occurrence of cytokine storm.ResultsThe median age of the entire cohort was 65 years (interquartile range [IQR], 54-74) years and 6359 patients were female (52.8%) and 6598 (54.8%) were non-Hispanic White. A total of 599 (5.0%) patients received IO, whereas 4327 (35.9%) received non-IO systemic anticancer therapies, and 7120 (59.1%) did not receive any antineoplastic regimen within 3 months prior to COVID-19 diagnosis. Although no difference in COVID-19 severity and cytokine storm was found in the IO group compared with the untreated group in the total cohort (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.80; 95% CI, 0.56-1.13, and aOR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.41-1.93, respectively), patients with baseline immunosuppression treated with IO (vs untreated) had worse COVID-19 severity and cytokine storm (aOR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.38-8.01, and aOR, 4.41; 95% CI, 1.71-11.38, respectively). Patients with immunosuppression receiving non-IO therapies (vs untreated) also had worse COVID-19 severity (aOR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.36-2.35) and cytokine storm (aOR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.42-3.79).Conclusions and RelevanceThis cohort study found that in patients with cancer and COVID-19, administration of systemic anticancer therapies, especially IO, in the context of baseline immunosuppression was associated with severe clinical outcomes and the development of cytokine storm.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04354701