%0 Journal Article %T Immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in cancer patients after COVID-19 vaccination during the Omicron wave: a prospective study. %A Muñoz-Gómez MJ %A Ryan P %A Quero-Delgado M %A Martin-Vicente M %A Cuevas G %A Valencia J %A Jiménez E %A Blanca-López N %A Lara-Álvarez MÁ %A Hernández-Rivas JÁ %A Redondo G %A Mas V %A Sepúlveda-Crespo D %A Vázquez M %A Torres-Macho J %A Martínez I %A Resino S %J J Infect Public Health %V 17 %N 7 %D 2024 Jul 7 %M 38865774 %F 7.537 %R 10.1016/j.jiph.2024.102473 %X BACKGROUND: Cancer patients often have weakened immune systems, resulting in a lower response to vaccines, especially those receiving immunosuppressive oncological treatment (OT). We aimed to assess the impact of OT on the humoral and T-cell response to the B.1 lineage and Omicron variant following COVID-19 vaccination in patients with solid and hematological neoplasms.
METHODS: We conducted a prospective study on cancer patients, stratified into OT and non-OT groups, who received a two-dose series of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and a booster six months later. The outcomes measured were the humoral (anti-SARS-CoV-2 S IgG titers and ACE2-S interaction inhibition capacity) and cellular (SARS-CoV-2 S-specific T-cell spots per million PBMCs) responses against the B.1 lineage and Omicron variant. These responses were evaluated four weeks after the second dose (n = 98) and eight weeks after the booster dose (n = 71).
RESULTS: The humoral response after the second vaccine dose against the B.1 lineage and Omicron variant was significantly weaker in the OT group compared to the non-OT group (q-value<0.05). A booster dose of the mRNA-1273 vaccine significantly improved the humoral response in the OT group, making it comparable to the non-OT group. The mRNA-1273 vaccine, designed for the original Wuhan strain, elicited a weaker humoral response against the Omicron variant compared to the B.1 lineage, regardless of oncological treatment or vaccine dose. In contrast, T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2, including the Omicron variant, were already present after the second vaccine dose and were not significantly affected by oncological treatments.
CONCLUSIONS: Cancer patients, particularly those receiving immunosuppressive oncological treatments, should require booster doses and adapted COVID-19 vaccines for new SARS-CoV-2 variants like Omicron. Future studies should evaluate the durability of the immune response and the efficacy of individualized regimens.