Patients Fully Vaccinated Have a Strong Immune Response Against COVID-19

Patients with lung cancer can achieve a strong immune response against COVID-19 following full vaccination, according to a substudy of the SOLID trial. Furthermore, treatment type doesn’t affect immune response.

In the study, led by Mariano Provencio, MD, PhD, 1973 patients with stage IV disease (66.0%) who were receiving active treatment (82.7%) in 37 Spanish hospitals from March 3, 2021, to September 30, 2021, were assessed for serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody levels two different times—2 weeks and 6 months—after they received the last dose. All patients enrolled were fully vaccinated.

Findings showed no significant differences in the probability of being seronegative for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies after full vaccination between patients who were actively receiving treatment and those who were not.

Two weeks after vaccination, high levels of antibody titers were observed in 93.6% of the 1405 patients who received the second dose. Ten patients (0.5%) contracted SARS‑CoV‑2 infection within a median of 19 days after full vaccination.

At 6 months, patients with a performance status ³2 and comorbidities had a higher chance of being seronegative after full COVID-19 vaccination. The probability was lower for patients who were receiving immunotherapy or oral targeted therapy or who received the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine, the authors concluded.