Journal of Infection and Public Health (Jul 2024)

Immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in cancer patients after COVID-19 vaccination during the Omicron wave: a prospective study

  • María José Muñoz-Gómez,
  • Pablo Ryan,
  • Marta Quero-Delgado,
  • María Martin-Vicente,
  • Guillermo Cuevas,
  • Jorge Valencia,
  • Eva Jiménez,
  • Natalia Blanca-López,
  • Miguel Ángel Lara-Álvarez,
  • José Ángel Hernández-Rivas,
  • Gerardo Redondo,
  • Vicente Mas,
  • Daniel Sepúlveda-Crespo,
  • Mónica Vázquez,
  • Juan Torres-Macho,
  • Isidoro Martínez,
  • Salvador Resino

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 7
p. 102473

Abstract

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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.

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