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Cancer research

COVID-19 Study Reveals No Significant Increase in Surgical Risk for Older Adults with Lung Cancer Despite Past Infection

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— 1 min read

Research conducted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University has found that older adults with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have had a past COVID-19 infection do not face a significantly increased risk of surgical complications. However, the study identified high-risk subgroups, including those aged 75 years or older and heavy smokers, who may face elevated surgical risks. The researchers developed preoperative prediction models to forecast surgical difficulties and risks for these patients, which demonstrated good performance.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study included 22,101 patients with NSCLC who underwent curative surgery at seven tertiary healthcare institutions in China between 2021 and 2024.
  • Older adults with a history of COVID-19 infection did not have a significantly increased risk of surgical complications compared to those without a history of COVID-19.
  • However, heavy smokers and those aged 75 years or older faced elevated surgical risks following COVID-19 infection.
  • The researchers developed nomograms to predict the surgical difficulty and risk for patients with a history of COVID-19 and for high-risk populations, which demonstrated good performance.
  • The study concluded that past COVID-19 infection does not significantly increase surgical difficulty or risk for older adult patients with NSCLC.
  • The proposed preoperative prediction models can effectively forecast surgical difficulties and risks for older adult patients with NSCLC.

Statistics:

  • 22,101 patients with NSCLC were included in the study.
  • 6.5% of patients with a history of COVID-19 infection experienced conversion rates, compared to 5.9% of patients without a history of COVID-19 (P=0.17).
  • The median surgical duration for patients with a history of COVID-19 infection was 89.0 minutes, compared to 99.0 minutes for those without a history of COVID-19 (P<0.001).

Sources:

  • Risk of Conversion and Severe Postoperative Complications In Older Patients With Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and a History of Covid-19: a Population-based Study. Translational Lung Cancer Research, 2025.
  • Translational Lung Cancer Research. Ame Publishing Company, Flat-Rm C 16F, Kings Wing Plaza 1, No 3 Kwan St, Shatin, Hong Kong 00000, Peoples R China.

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