Third Vaccination Improves Humoral Immunity Against COVID-19 in Cancer Patients on Active Chemotherapy

A study published on medrxiv.org has found that a third vaccination improves humoral immunity against COVID-19 in cancer patients on active chemotherapy, with no severe adverse events. The research, which has not been peer-reviewed, involved 20 participants who received a third booster shot as part of an interventional phase 1 trial. The study found that after the third immunization, there was a median 3-fold increase in virus-neutralizing titers, indicating improved humoral immunity. However, no improvement was observed in T cell responses at 1 week after the booster immunization.

Key Takeaways:

• A third vaccination improved humoral immunity against COVID-19 in cancer patients on active chemotherapy, with a median 3-fold increase in virus-neutralizing titers.
• The third vaccination did not improve T cell responses at 1 week after the booster immunization.
• The study involved 20 participants who received a third booster shot as part of an interventional phase 1 trial (NCT04936997).
• The primary outcomes of the study were immune responses, with secondary outcomes including safety.
• No serious adverse events were reported after a month of follow-up.

Statistics:

• 67% of cancer patients had detectable neutralizing antibodies after the first immunization.
• 80% of cancer patients had detectable neutralizing antibodies after the second immunization.
• 20 participants received a third booster shot as part of the interventional phase 1 trial.
• The median 3-fold increase in virus-neutralizing titers was observed after the third immunization.
• No improvement was observed in T cell responses at 1 week after the booster immunization.

Sources:

• medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.13.21257129v2 (Springer Nature)