Low Serological Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Cancer Patients at a German University Oncology Center

Overheu, Oliver; Schmidt, Wolfgang E.; Sakinc-Güler, Türkan; Reinacher‐Schick, Anke

doi:10.1159/000520572

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Previous studies have shown that antibody titers in patients with certain cancers, including but not limited to, advanced cancers and B cell hematological malignancies, are either absent or very low not only after SARS-CoV-2 infection, but also after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination (5,(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(31)(32)(33)(34). In line with the major aim of this study, we identified a unique immune signature based on upregulated CRP, IL-15, IL-18, and PlGF that could be used to identify patients who did not sufficiently respond to vaccination with BNT162b2 vaccine.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictive model for BNT162b2 vaccine response in cancer patients based on blood cytokines and growth factors

et al. 2022

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BackgroundPatients with cancer, especially hematological cancer, are at increased risk for breakthrough COVID-19 infection. So far, a predictive biomarker that can assess compromised vaccine-induced anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunity in cancer patients has not been proposed.MethodsWe employed machine learning approaches to identify a biomarker signature based on blood cytokines, chemokines, and immune- and non-immune-related growth factors linked to vaccine immunogenicity in 199 cancer patients receiving the BNT162b2 vaccine.ResultsC-reactive protein (general marker of inflammation), interleukin (IL)-15 (a pro-inflammatory cytokine), IL-18 (interferon-gamma inducing factor), and placental growth factor (an angiogenic cytokine) correctly classified patients with a diminished vaccine response assessed at day 49 with >80% accuracy. Amongst these, CRP showed the highest predictive value for poor response to vaccine administration. Importantly, this unique signature of vaccine response was present at different studied timepoints both before and after vaccination and was not majorly affected by different anti-cancer treatments.ConclusionWe propose a blood-based signature of cytokines and growth factors that can be employed in identifying cancer patients at persistent high risk of COVID-19 despite vaccination with BNT162b2. Our data also suggest that such a signature may reflect the inherent immunological constitution of some cancer patients who are refractive to immunotherapy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictive model for BNT162b2 vaccine response in cancer patients based on blood cytokines and growth factors

et al. 2022

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“…Previous studies have shown that patients with certain cancers, including but not limited to, advanced cancers and B cell haematological malignancies, develop low or even absent antibody titres not only after SARS-CoV-2 infection, but also after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination [5,[7][8][9][10][11][29][30][31][32]. In line with the major aim of this study, we identified a unique immune signature based on upregulated CRP, IL-15, IL-18, and PlGF can be used to identify patients who did not sufficiently respond to vaccination with BNT162b2 vaccine.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictive model for BNT162b2 vaccine response in cancer patients based on cytokines and growth factors

Konnova

Winter

Gupta

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background: Patients with cancer, especially haematological cancer, are at increased risk for breakthrough COVID-19 infection. However, so far, a predictive biomarker that can assess compromised vaccine-induced anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunity in cancer patients has not been proposed. Methods: Here, we employed machine learning approaches to identify a biomarker signature based on blood cytokine and growth factors linked to vaccine response from 199 cancer patients receiving BNT162b2 vaccine. Results: We show that C-reactive protein (CRP; general marker of inflammation), interleukin (IL)-15 (a pro-inflammatory cytokine), IL-18 (interferon-gamma inducing factor), and placental growth factor (an angiogenic cytokine) can correctly classify patients with a diminished vaccine response assessed at day 49 with >80% accuracy. Amongst these, CRP showed the highest predictive value for poor response to vaccine administration. Importantly, this unique signature of vaccine response was present at different studied timepoints both before and after vaccination and was not majorly affected by different anti-cancer treatments. Conclusion: While we propose a blood-based signature of cytokines and growth factors that can be employed in identifying cancer patients at continued risk of COVID-19, our data also importantly suggest that such a signature could reflect the inherent make-up of some cancer patients who are also refractive to immunotherapy.

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“…Similarly, it was also expected that perhaps the dysfunctional immune responses in cancer patients would render them more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, leading to high COVID-19 mortality rates [ 10 ]. Recent studies conducted in Japan and Germany suggest that SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was lower among cancer patients [ 11 , 12 ]. However, whether lower SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence also holds true in the SSA cancer patient population, especially in the presence of HIV-1 infection, is not clear, although no increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths among cancer patients has been reported from SSA [ 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study in France reported similar SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence between cancer patients and healthcare workers, whereas another study from Spain reported higher SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among cancer patients [ 20 , 21 ]. Moreover, several studies from Japan, Germany, and Italy reported lower seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among cancer patients [ 11 , 12 , 22 ]. There are no studies on the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among cancer patients from SSA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lower SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence among Cancer Patients in Sub-Saharan Africa

Tso

Lidenge

Ngowi

et al. 2022

JCM

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Background: Despite the high COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates across the world, the reported rates in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which has a higher burden of other infectious diseases and overwhelmed healthcare systems, remain relatively low. This study aims to better understand the potential factors that contribute to this phenomenon, especially among cancer patients who are considered as a high-risk group for developing severe COVID-19. Methods: Plasma samples collected during the COVID-19 pandemic from SARS-CoV-2 unvaccinated cancer and potential blood donor populations were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 (spike and nucleocapsid proteins) antibodies by an immunofluorescence assay. The relationships between SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalences and study variables were determined using a logistic regression analysis. Results: High seroprevalence against the SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins were found among the SARS-CoV-2 unvaccinated COVID-19 pandemic populations in SSA. However, the cancer patients demonstrated a lower seroprevalence compared to potential blood donors. There was also an association between mild COVID-19 symptoms with prior tuberculosis vaccination among cancer patients. Conclusion: Cancer patients in SSA tend to have a relatively lower SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence compared to potential blood donors recruited from the same geographic locations during the COVID-19 pandemic. More study is required to determine its cause and potential impact on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination among cancer patients.

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Low Serological Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Cancer Patients at a German University Oncology Center

Cited by 8 publications

References 53 publications

Predictive model for BNT162b2 vaccine response in cancer patients based on blood cytokines and growth factors

Predictive model for BNT162b2 vaccine response in cancer patients based on blood cytokines and growth factors

Predictive model for BNT162b2 vaccine response in cancer patients based on cytokines and growth factors

Lower SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence among Cancer Patients in Sub-Saharan Africa

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