Humoral and cellular immune response after mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in children on treatment for cancer: A pilot observational study
Angela Mastronuzzi,
Rita Carsetti,
Maria Antonietta De Ioris,
Chiara Agrati,
Giada Del Baldo,
Cristina Russo,
Maria Giuseppina Cefalo,
Pietro Merli,
Carlo Federico Perno,
Vito Andrea dell'Anna,
Annalisa Serra,
Veronica Bordoni,
Eva Piano Mortari,
Valentina Marcellini,
Christian Albano,
Giulia Linardos,
Valentino Costabile,
Matilde Sinibaldi,
Marika Guercio,
Stefano di Cecca,
Concetta Quintarelli,
Franco Locatelli
Affiliations
Angela Mastronuzzi
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Corresponding author.
Rita Carsetti
B cell Unit, Immunology Research Area, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy
Maria Antonietta De Ioris
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Chiara Agrati
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Giada Del Baldo
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Cristina Russo
Multimodal Research Area, Unit of Microbiology and Diagnostics in Immunology, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Maria Giuseppina Cefalo
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Pietro Merli
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Carlo Federico Perno
Multimodal Research Area, Unit of Microbiology and Diagnostics in Immunology, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Vito Andrea dell'Anna
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Annalisa Serra
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Veronica Bordoni
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Eva Piano Mortari
B cell Unit, Immunology Research Area, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy
Valentina Marcellini
Research Biobank, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Christian Albano
B cell Unit, Immunology Research Area, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy
Giulia Linardos
Multimodal Research Area, Unit of Microbiology and Diagnostics in Immunology, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Valentino Costabile
Multimodal Research Area, Unit of Microbiology and Diagnostics in Immunology, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Matilde Sinibaldi
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Marika Guercio
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Stefano di Cecca
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Concetta Quintarelli
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Franco Locatelli
Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, and Cell and Gene Therapy Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Department of Life Science and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
Immunocompromised children are at risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection. We conducted a pilot prospective study to evaluate the impact of cancer treatment and stem cell transplantation on immunogenicity of two doses of BNT162b2 vaccine in pediatric patients.Humoral, B- and T-cell responses to the BNT162b2 vaccine were assessed before, after the first and the second dose in patients aged 5–12 years (n = 35) and in a group of healthy donors (HD, n = 12). Patients were divided in three groups: solid tumors (ST, n = 11), hematological malignancies (HM, n = 14) and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) recipients (n = 10). After two vaccine doses, the seroconversion rate was 79.3 % (72.7 % in ST, 66.7 % in HM and 100 % in HSCT). The antibodies production was not associated to the presence of memory B and T-cells. Memory B-cells were measurable in 45.5 % ST, 66.6 % HSCT and in 22.0 % HM. The specific T-cell response was observed in most ST (81.8 %) and HSCT (85.7 %) patients and at lesser extent in those with HM (55.5 %). The combination of all immunological parameters (antibodies, memory B and T cells) showed that a significant fraction of HM (33.3 %) and ST (18.2 %) patients completely failed to respond to vaccination. Although able to produce antibodies, 11.1 % of HM and 27.3 % of ST had no B- and T-cell memory. HSCT subgroup showed the best immune function, with 80 % complete response and optimal T-cell function.Combination of anti-RBD antibody, and specific memory B- and T-cell responses represents a reliable read-out of vaccine immune efficacy in frail patients.
