Resumen de SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with melanoma: results of the Spanish Melanoma Group registry
María González Cao, Teresa Puértolas Hernández, Clara Martínez Vila, Cristina Carrera, Cayetana Maldonado Seral, Pedro Rodríguez Jiménez, Silvia Sequero, Pablo Cerezuela Fuentes, Rosa Adelaida Feltes Ochoa, Eva Muñoz Couselo, Mónica Antoñanzas Basa, Juan Martin Liberal, Ainara Soria, Juan Francisco Rodríguez Moreno, Iván Márquez Rodas, P López Criado, José Luis Manzano Mozo, R. Lopez Castro, Pablo Ayala de Miguel, María Laura Villalobos León, Salvador Martín Algarra, Ines Gonzalez Barrallo, A. Boada García, Almudena García Castaño, Susana Puig Sardá, Guillermo Crespo Herrero, Pablo Luna Fra, Cristina Aguayo Zamora, Marta Feito Rodríguez, Lara Vallés Blanco, Ana Drozdowskyj, Jesús Gardeazabal García, Luis Antonio Fernández Morales, Alberto Rodrigo Cáceres, Raquel Cruz, Oriol Yélamos, Belen Rubio, Karmele Mujica, Mariano Provencio Pulla, Alfonso Berrocal Jaime
Background The Spanish Melanoma Group (GEM) developed a national registry of patients with melanoma infected by SARS-CoV-2 (“GRAVID”).
Methods The main objective was to describe the COVID-19 fatality rate in patients with melanoma throughout the pandemic, as well as to explore the effect of melanoma treatment and tumor stage on the risk of COVID-19 complications. These are the final data of the register, including cases from February 2020 to September 2021.
Results One hundred-fifty cases were registered. Median age was 68 years (range 6–95), 61 (40%) patients were females, and 63 (42%) patients had stage IV. Thirty-nine (26%) were on treatment with immunotherapy, and 17 (11%) with BRAF-MEK inhibitors. COVID-19 was resolved in 119 cases, including 85 (57%) patients cured, 15 (10%) that died due to melanoma, and 20 (13%) that died due to COVID-19. Only age over 60 years, cardiovascular disorders, and diabetes mellitus increased the risk of death due to COVID-19, but not advanced melanoma stage nor melanoma systemic therapies. Three waves have been covered by the register: February–May 2020, August–November 2020, and December 2020–April 2021. The first wave had the highest number of registered cases and COVID-19 mortality.
Conclusion Tumor stage or melanoma treatments are non-significant prognostic factors for COVID-19 mortality. During the pandemic in Spain there was a downward trend in the number of patients registered across the waves, as well as in the severity of the infection.
