Cancer Patients Develop Fewer Protective Antibodies to COVID-19 – Technology Networks

Register for free to listen to this article

Thank you. Listen to this article using the player above.

Want to listen to this article for FREE?

Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.

Researchers from the Institut dInvestigaci en Atenci Primria Jordi Gol (IDIAPJGol) and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a center promoted by la Caixa Foundation, have led astudy on the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 among cancer patientsin Catalonia. Theresearch, recently published in the journalNature Communications,recommends administering additional doses of the vaccine among this risk population.

Cancer patientsare atincreased risk of death from COVID-19,especially those who have lung cancer, hematological malignancies or are undergoing systemic treatment, such as chemotherapy.

Theparticipationof patients with active cancer inclinical trialsthat have been carried out to test the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 has been verylimited, so it has not been possible to know exactly the effectiveness of immunization against the SARS-CoV-2 virus among this risk group.

However,prospective datafrom several studies show thatcancer patients may develop fewer protective antibodiesto COVID-19 virus than the general population, especially after receiving a single dose of the vaccine.

The study that has just been published inNature Communicationsconfirms these results, based on theanalysis of massive data obtained from clinical registries. This is themost comprehensive work yet on this issueand thefirstof this kind withinformation from real-world data, providing a more realistic view of how vaccines are working in everyday clinical practice among people with cancer.

The researchers have analyzed the data of184,744 patientswith neoplasia included in the information system for the development of research in primary care (SIDIAP), the database that includes people treated at the first level of care in Catalonia. Half of the individuals included in the study (92,372) had received at least the first complete immunization (two inoculations of the vaccine) and the other half (92,372) had not been vaccinated at the time of the work.

Subscribe to Technology Networks daily newsletter, delivering breaking science news straight to your inbox every day.

The results of the study show that therate of mortality and serious complications among cancer patients not vaccinated against COVID-19 is twicethat of those who have received the full first dose. However, this difference is smaller than the observed data among the general population immunized against SARS-CoV-2 and the non-immunized population.

Our results clearly demonstrate that vaccination against COVID-19 significantly reduces mortality and serious complications among cancer patients,especially those who have received the booster dose, highlighted ISGlobal researcherOtavio Ranzani, who supervised the study together withTalita Duarte-Sallsfrom IDIAPJGol.

For her part, this researcher explained that this work provides essential information to understand the impact of vaccination against COVID-19 on cancer patients, and helps to design public health policies that protect this vulnerable population.

Reference:Lazar Neto F, Mercad-Besora N, Ravents B, et al. Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against severe COVID-19 among patients with cancer in Catalonia, Spain. Nat Commun. 2024;15(1):5088. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-49285-y

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. Our press release publishing policy can be accessed here.

Originally posted here:

Cancer Patients Develop Fewer Protective Antibodies to COVID-19 - Technology Networks