Purpose: One in seven patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) has a cancer diagnosis but evidence on their expected outcomes after admission has not been synthesised.
Methods: Systematic literature review of solid cancer adult patients admitted to ICU from 2000 onwards using EMBASE and MEDLINE electronic databases.
Results: There were 48 papers identified that reported survival in ICU patients with solid cancers. ICU mortality was reported in 35 studies comprising a total sample of 25,339 patients and ranging from 4.5 to 85 %. The average mortality of the distribution of reported mortality rates within ICU was 31.2 % (95 % CI 24.0-39.0 %). Hospital mortality was reported in 31 studies across a total sample of 74,061 patients. The average hospital mortality was 38.2 % (33.8-42.7 %) and ranged from 4.6 to 76.8 %. Poorer physiological score, invasive mechanical ventilation and poor functional status were associated with higher mortality.
Conclusions: Several factors have been associated with poor survival in ICU cancer patients; however, primary research is still needed to describe outcomes in cancer patients with sufficient case mix and treatment details to be of prognostic value to clinicians.