People hospitalized with COVID-19 in the first 20 months of the pandemic were more likely to die if they had active cancer but not if they had a past history of cancer, according to a large new study led by UW-Madison researchers.
Chemotherapy and other treatments can suppress immune systems and cancer can deplete other physical reserves, making it harder to fight infections like COVID-19, said Dr. Margaret Nolan, the UW-Madison scientist who headed up the study.