HemaSphere (Aug 2022)

Second Booster BNT162b2 Restores SARS-CoV-2 Humoral Response in Patients With Multiple Myeloma, Excluding Those Under Anti-BCMA Therapy

  • Ioannis Ntanasis-Stathopoulos,
  • Vangelis Karalis,
  • Maria Gavriatopoulou,
  • Panagiotis Malandrakis,
  • Aimilia D. Sklirou,
  • Evangelos Eleutherakis-Papaiakovou,
  • Magdalini Migkou,
  • Maria Roussou,
  • Despina Fotiou,
  • Harry Alexopoulos,
  • Foteini Theodorakakou,
  • Efstathios Kastritis,
  • Vassiliki A. Iconomidou,
  • Ioannis P. Trougakos,
  • Meletios A. Dimopoulos,
  • Evangelos Terpos

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1097/HS9.0000000000000764
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 8
p. e764

Abstract

Read online

COVID-19 vaccination leads to a less intense humoral response in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) compared with healthy individuals, whereas the SARS-CoV-2-specific immunity fades over time. The purpose of this study was to explore the kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) in patients with MM after vaccination with the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine, focusing on their response before (B4D) and at 1 month after the fourth vaccination (M1P4D). Overall, 201 patients with a median age of 67 years were included, whereas 114 (56.7%) were men. The median NAbs levels B4D were 80.0% (±3.5%) and at M1P4D they increased to a median value of 96.1% (±3.7%). The NAb values at M1P4D were similar to those at 1 month post the third dose and superior to all previous timepoints. At M1P4D, the NAbs levels of all the treatment groups increased, apart from the anti-BCMA group. A significant increase in median NAbs values was observed for those receiving CD38-based treatment (n = 43, from 71.0% B4D to 96.0% at M1P4D) and those who did not receive CD38- or BCMA-targeted therapy (n = 137, from 89.6% B4D to 96.3% at M1P4D). Regarding the patients under BCMA-based therapy (n = 21), there was no remarkable increase in NAbs values following the second booster shot (from 3.0% B4D to 4.0% at M1P4D). In conclusion, booster vaccination with the BNT162b2 results in a substantially improved humoral response against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with MM. Anti-BCMA treatment remains an adverse predictive factor for NAbs response; thus, tailored prevention measures should be considered for this patient subgroup.