This was the result of a study led by the Medical Faculty of the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz. Whether this protects adequately against a severe course of a corona disease and how a possible “booster vaccination” works is to be investigated further.
In principle, cancer patients, who are often immune-weakened by disease and therapy, cannot build up as good protection as healthy people with vaccinations. The study, which was carried out exclusively at the Kepler University Hospital (KUK) with 87 cancer patients and 44 control participants, not only recorded an antibody response, but also measured the cellular immune situation, i.e. so-called T cells. These are specifically directed against the nail-like surface protein of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the university reported on Wednesday.
Antibody and cell immune responses did not occur in patients with blood cancer, but not in patients with solid tumors, i.e. organ cancers, even under ongoing drug treatment. In the control group, those who had been vaccinated with or without a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection showed more robust T-cell responses than those who had not been vaccinated.
A third of cancer patients can deliver either only an antibody or only a T-cell response. What this means for protection against a more severe course of a corona infection cannot yet be clearly assessed, said KUK Board Member for Hematology and Internal Oncology Clemens A. Schmitt. That is why vaccinated cancer patients should also be tested consistently. “It will also be exciting to see whether such ‘partial responders’ among cancer patients could particularly benefit from a possible third ‘booster’ vaccination,” said Schmitt.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
