Poor immune response in many double- vaccinated blood cancer patients

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/932328

 

 News Release 21-Oct-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
King's College London

 

More than half of double vaccinated blood cancer patients have been left with little protection against COVID-19, new research has found.

Data from the SOAP-02 trial, published today in a letter to Cancer Cell, examines the level of immune protection following the delayed Pfizer vaccine boost in 159 participants, 128 of whom were cancer patients. Although administering the second dose increased rates of seroconversion (development of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2) in blood cancer patients from <20% following a single dose, 57% of double-vaccinated blood cancer patients still failed to mount an immune response to SARS-CoV-2 spike.

The data highlight the continued vulnerabilities of blood cancer patients to COVID-19.  In the absence of protection typically offered by vaccination, the authors argue that the study shows the importance of continuing public health measures to limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and the urgency of the booster programme, particularly at a time of very high transmissions of the delta-variant in the U.K.

Solid cancer patients, such as those with breast, urological or skin cancers, also showed poor responses to single-dose vaccination, with just 38% seroconversion rates. However, unlike their blood cancer counterparts, these patients showed strong responses to a second vaccine dose given at either 3 weeks or 12 weeks. 

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