2023-06-20 11:00:32
Due to the disease, and also due to the treatment, they often have a moderately to severely weakened immune system
Patients treated for lymph node cancer produce little or no antibodies after they have had a vaccination or infection. Research now shows that these patients still build up antibodies after their cancer treatment. “Vaccination therefore always makes sense,” says Mette Hazenberg, hematologist at Amsterdam UMC Cancer Center Amsterdam and principal investigator. “This is an important message for patients and practitioners for the expected round of vaccinations against Covid-19 and the annual flu shot.”
In previous research, the researchers saw that patients with lymphoma, in particular, were unable to produce antibodies after a vaccination due to the treatment of their cancer. This is because these patients hardly have any B cells that can make those antibodies during their treatment. The researchers now show that the vaccinations given during the absence of the B cells still had an effect. Hematologist Inger Nijhof, co-principal researcher at Amsterdam UMC: “We discovered that after the treatment, the immune system still optimally helped the recovering B cells to make good antibodies against Covid-19. In fact, these antibodies are more efficient and immediately rendered the corona virus harmless.” The findings are published in eClinical Medicine, a journal of the Lancet.
Better defense than expected
This outcome means that it always makes sense to vaccinate patients with a moderate or poor immune system, even if patients do not have B cells and are therefore unable to produce antibodies. “Because we now know that fortunately it is only temporary that they cannot do this,” said Hazenberg. “However, it is important to give booster vaccinations when the B cells are recovering.” The Health Council is expected to advise on the long-term vaccination strategy against COVID-19 in the summer of 2023. The researchers previously showed that standard covid-19 vaccinations built up a better immune system than expected. With a third covid-19 vaccination, the majority of patients with haematological disorders even achieved as many antibodies as a healthy person after 2 vaccinations.
Vital interest
The study by Amsterdam UMC, Erasmus MC, UMC Groningen and the RIVM is a ZonMW-funded study into the efficacy of covid-19 vaccinations among more than 700 patients with a haematological disorder such as lymph node cancer, acute and chronic leukemia and sickle cell disease. Due to the disease, and also due to the treatment, they often have a moderately to severely weakened immune system. Vaccinating against flu or corona is therefore vital for these patients.
Source: Amsterdam UMC
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