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Cancer treatment may inhibit immune response to COVID-19 vaccination

Date:
January 20, 2022
Source:
Mayo Clinic
Summary:
A study has found that patients with cancer who receive chemotherapy -- and some targeted therapies, such as CDK4/6 inhibitors and therapies targeted at B cells -- may mount an inadequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination.
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A study by researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center has found that patients with cancer who receive chemotherapy -- and some targeted therapies, such as CDK4/6 inhibitors and therapies targeted at B cells -- may mount an inadequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination. The findings are published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovation, Quality & Outcomes.

"It is important for patients with cancer who are receiving chemotherapy to receive a COVID-19 vaccine," says Saranya Chumsri, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematologist and oncologist, and author of the paper. Dr. Chumsri says this advice also applies to patients with cancer who are taking a CDK 4/6 inhibitors. These inhibitors are a newer class of medicines used to treat hormone-receptor-positive and HER2-negative breast cancers.

Dr. Chumsri says that while CDK 4/6 inhibitors are not conventionally considered to be as immunosuppressive as chemotherapy, her research on patients with breast cancer who take these drugs found that they exhibited less optimal neutralizing antibody activity. Dr. Chumsri recommends that antibody levels be tested in these patients after vaccination, and they should consider receiving booster vaccinations for COVID-19.

Dr. Chumsri anticipates having additional data later this year regarding broader immune responses to COVID-19 vaccinations, including cellular and antibody responses in patients receiving chemotherapy and targeted therapies with booster vaccinations.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Mayo Clinic. Original written by Joe Dangor. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Saranya Chumsri, Pooja P. Advani, Tanmayi S. Pai, Zhuo Li, Ashita Mummareddy, Marites Acampora, Gina A. Reynolds, Natasha Wylie, Ashton W. Boyle, Yanyan Lou, Kabir Mody, Alvaro Moreno-Aspitia, Melanie D. Swift, Abinash Virk, Adil E. Bharucha, Christopher P. Marquez, Tushar C. Patel, Gregory J. Gores, Keith L. Knutson. Humoral Responses after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination and Breakthrough Infection in Cancer Patients. Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes, 2021; DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2021.12.004

Cite This Page:

Mayo Clinic. "Cancer treatment may inhibit immune response to COVID-19 vaccination." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 January 2022. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220120125438.htm>.
Mayo Clinic. (2022, January 20). Cancer treatment may inhibit immune response to COVID-19 vaccination. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 8, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220120125438.htm
Mayo Clinic. "Cancer treatment may inhibit immune response to COVID-19 vaccination." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220120125438.htm (accessed December 8, 2024).

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