At the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) we hear from patients with blood cancer every day about how COVID-19 affects all aspects of their lives, including decisions essential about their cancer care. This is of particular concern because COVID-19-infected blood cancer patients may have longer disease survival, higher hospitalization rates, and higher mortality rates compared to patients with solid tumor cancer or individuals without cancer. In addition, some blood cancer patients have chronic diseases that allow COVID-19 changes to occur.
Now that life – saving vaccines are available, we are hearing new concerns from cancer patients who are not feeling the same way as those without cancer: many are asking whether the vaccines will protect them. Mar MedPage today recently reported, they are right to be concerned.
In a UK study, patients with solid or hematologic cancer had less ability to generate antibodies in response to the first dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine compared to healthy individuals. Only 13% of blood cancer patients produced high levels of antibody in response to the first dose compared with 95% of non-cancer patients. This result is even more worrying in the UK where policymakers have delayed second doses for using their limited vaccine supply to give the first doses to a larger percentage of the population. These data suggest that cancer patients may be more susceptible to COVID-19 infections after vaccination compared to the general population.
The US, by contrast, adheres to the recommended dosing times – 21 days for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 28 days for the Moderna vaccine. The good news from the UK study is that the second dose of the vaccine partially restored the immune response in patients with solid cancers. But this study still lies something we once expected to be true – COVID-19 vaccines do not work as well in some cancer patients.
The study did not include enough patients with hematologic cancers to make decisions about their immune response at two doses, but even if it did, blood cancer patients, and hard tumor patients for that matter, do not. , a homosexual group. There are more than 100 types of blood cancer and a range of treatments with immunosuppressive effects, including commonly used drugs such as rituximab and BTK protectors for blood cancer that can be prescribed by specific patients. the high risk of COVID-19 infections after vaccinations.
What we need is a broad assessment of vaccine responses in all types of blood cancer patients at different stages of their care. Since cancer patients were excluded from the tests used for FDA and EU authorization for the COVID-19 vaccines, we need to support efforts to get them into post-market testing. Fortunately, many large-scale trials are underway in the US and UK examining the response of patients with specific blood cancers to COVID-19 vaccines.
LLS has also launched a research project through their National Patient Register to collect real world data (NCT04794387). Nearly 2,500 former and former blood cancer patients have been registered in the past month and recruitment is ongoing. Our researchers are collecting data to improve our understanding of how people with different blood cancers respond to COVID-19 and the vaccines so that vaccination strategies and timing can be designed to increase protection . LLS is committed to sharing results with the medical communities and patients as soon as possible.
With the actual number of patients receiving the vaccine in the coming months as well as the continuing risk of the SAR-CoV-2 virus being transmitted in the community, this will be a once in a while opportunity. life to gather vital information to learn about immune response in everyone. types of cancer patients. But patients want and need answers today. Here’s what we tell those who reach out to us:
- The vaccines are safe: there is no reason to believe that COVID-19 vaccines are as safe for cancer patients compared to the general population.
- Early plan: talk to your healthcare team as soon as possible to make a vaccination plan. For treated cancer patients, the question should not be if so, but when to get the vaccine for the best protection.
- Encourage everyone in your household to be vaccinated: Flock protection can be seen through even the small lens of one home. If everyone around you is protected, you are much safer.
- Play it safe: follow good infection control practices recommended by the CDC. This is especially important for patients who may not be getting the best protection from the vaccines. In order to obtain the data necessary to determine which patients are in this category, all blood cancer patients should continue to wear masks, social distance, and hand washing.
Although some cancer patients may be well protected against COVID-19 infections after receiving the vaccine, we have emerging data to show that this may not be the case for her all cancer patients, and in particular, vaccinated blood cancer patients. It is vital that we encourage all cancer patients to discuss vaccinations with their doctors. All patients need to be aware that any level of protection is better than none, two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are better than one, and they should continue to follow infection prevention protocols.
Lee Greenberger, PhD, chief scientific officer of the Society of Leukemia & Lymphoma (LLS). He has more than 25 years of experience in the discovery and development of oncology drugs. Leads design and strategy for LLS research programs.