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Patients with cancer who developed sepsis were more likely to have a “higher association” with various risk factors that affect the outcomes of sepsis, such as older age, lower BMI, and other factors, according to results from a recent study.

Christopher Pope, MD, of Cooper University Hospital, and colleagues conducted the study and published their findings as an abstract during the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 2026 Annual Conference.

According to the investigators, “cancer and its various treatment modalities increase susceptibility to the development of sepsis.” Their goal was to explore “the difference in risk factors and outcomes of sepsis” in patients with cancer and patients with sepsis who did not have cancer.

The study included all adult patients who received treatment for sepsis at a “urban tertiary healthcare center.” Investigators performed a retrospective cohort analysis and split the patients into two groups comprised of individuals with cancer who developed sepsis (n=310) and patients who developed sepsis but did not have cancer (n=628).

The results revealed “higher associations of certain variables” in the cohort with cancer versus the cohort without cancer, including “male sex (55.8 vs 48.2%; P=0.029), White race (60.6 vs 51.7%; P=0.001), lower BMI (28.10+/-9.3 vs 30.02+/-10.4 kg/m2; P=0.004) and history of transient ischemic attack (6.1 vs 2.7%; P=0.010).”

Lower associations were also observed in the cohort with cancer compared to the cohort without cancer, including “recreational drug use (10.0 vs 17.0%; P=0.004) and diabetes mellitus (35.9 vs 45.9%; P=0.004).”

The investigators also performed a simple linear regression, which found that patients with cancer who developed sepsis had lower hospital stays. However, the study’s logistic regression model demonstrated that individuals with cancer had “increased odds of all-cause mortality (OR, 1.822; 95% CI, 1.350-2.460; P<0.001).

In reflecting on the results, the investigators underscored that although patients with cancer were more likely to experience all-cause mortality, they also had “comparable readmission rates, bloodstream infection, and in-hospital mortality.”

Overall, patients with cancer who were diagnosed with sepsis had higher associations with risk factors, such as older age, lower BMI, White race, male sex, and a history of transient ischemic attack, and lower associations with risk factors, such as recreational drug use and diabetes.

“Patients with sepsis and cancer have lower [length of stay], higher-all cause mortality, and have no influence on readmission, bloodstream infection, and in-hospital mortality,” the investigators concluded.