Prevalence and clinical characterization of cancer patients with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection history

J Infect. 2020 Dec;81(6):e22-e24. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.07.018. Epub 2020 Jul 22.

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Hubei Cancer Hospital，Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
² Department of Thoracic Surgery and Oncology, The first affiliated hospital of Guangzhou medical university, China State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease & National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou, China.
³ Department of Laboratory, Hubei Cancer Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
⁴ Department of Thoracic Surgery and Oncology, The first affiliated hospital of Guangzhou medical university, China State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease & National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou, China.. Electronic address: liangwh1987@163.com.
⁵ Department of Radiation Oncology, Hubei Cancer Hospital，Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: hg7913@hotmail.com.

Abstract

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We retrospectively studied the prevalence and clinical characterization of cancer patients with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection history in the only cancer hospital in Wuhan.
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Serosurvey of SARS-CoV-2 among hospital visitors from two hospitals, one at the epicenter in Wuhan, and one outside the epicenter, in Guangzhou.
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Cancer patients are more likely to develop asymptomatic COVID-19 infection than persons with similar exposure history.
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Transmissibility of asymptomatic cases is relatively low, even in vulnerable populations such as cancer patients.