Comparison of immunogenicity for Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine vs. natural infection during cancer treatment

• Published in: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences Vol. 27; no. 9; p. 4309
• Main Authors: Çakır, E, Saydan, D, Gülbagcı, B, Özen, M, Uğurlu, I, Demirci, A, Bilir, F, Hacıbekiroglu, I, Yıldız, N, Akcali, S, Altindis, M, Varım, C, Yaylaci, S, Bilir, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Italy 01-05-2023
• Subjects: COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 Vaccines; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Retrospective Studies; Vaccines
• ISSN: 2284-0729
• DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_202305_32341

Efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines in cancer patients, especially during their active treatment, are lacking. Most of the studies in the literature compared the immunity in cancer patients with a cross-sectional cohort or retrospectively. Our study investigated Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity and compared it with natural COVID-19 disease in cancer patients during their cancer therapy.
A total of 111 patients with cancer and who are on active treatment were included in the study. This is a single-center study and was designed prospectively. Two group of patients were included in the study, natural disease and vaccinated group.
A total of 111 patients were included in the study, 34 of whom had natural COVID-19 disease. Antibody levels following the first dose vaccine were 0.4 (0-1.9) U/ml while after the second dose of vaccine were 2.6 (1.0-7.25) U/ml. Immunogenicity levels were 82.4% in the natural disease group and 75.8% in the vaccinated group after the second shot of the vaccine. Immunogenicity rate was significantly higher in non-chemotherapy (receiving immunotehrapy/targeted therapy or biologic agent) group compared to chemotherapy drug (92.9% vs. 63.3%, p=0.004). There was a difference between the antibody levels following the first and second vaccination [median (IQR): 0.3 (0-1.0) and 3.3 (2.0-6.7), p=0.001, respectively].
The present study revealed that the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine showed an acceptable immunogenicity following two shots in cancer patients who were receiving active systemic therapy. On the other hand, natural disease immunogenicity was higher than vaccinated group.