부산대학교 도서관

Simple Summary: Coronavirus-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2 which is a fatal disease if untreated. The chance of mortality is higher in cancer patients because, in immunocompromised cancer patients, lung damage occurs more rapidly than in normal non-cancer patients which needs more precision based diagnostic criteria. Our study highlights the significance of CT-based radiomics findings to detect morphological damage in the lungs due to COVID-19 in cancer patients. This methodology will help clinicians to investigate the disease more precisely for more accurate precision-based diagnosis. Background: Cancer patients infected with COVID-19 were shown in a multitude of studies to have poor outcomes on the basis of older age and weak immune systems from cancer as well as chemotherapy. In this study, the CT examinations of 22 confirmed COVID-19 cancer patients were analyzed. Methodology: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 28 cancer patients, of which 22 patients were COVID positive. The CT scan changes before and after treatment and the extent of structural damage to the lungs after COVID-19 infection was analyzed. Structural damage to a lung was indicated by a change in density measured in Hounsfield units (HUs) and by lung volume reduction. A 3D radiometric analysis was also performed and lung and lesion histograms were compared. Results: A total of 22 cancer patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. A repeat CT scan were performed in 15 patients after they recovered from infection. Most of the study patients were diagnosed with leukemia. A secondary clinical analysis was performed to show the associations of COVID treatment on the study subjects, lab data, and outcome on mortality. It was found that post COVID there was a decrease of >50% in lung volume and a higher density in the form of HUs due to scar tissue formation post infection. Conclusion: It was concluded that COVID-19 infection may have further detrimental effects on the lungs of cancer patients, thereby, decreasing their lung volume and increasing their lung density due to scar formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]