Saptaparna Dasgupta, Bennett University
The risk of COVID19 infection is exceeded in multiple myeloma patients. Vaccine for the general population with BNT162b2 mRNA COVID19 (BNT162b2) provides effective protection against COVID19. However, their efficacy on patients with multiple myeloma may be adversely affected by and not yet assessed due to factors related to disease and therapy. The study was conducted in patients post the second dose of vaccine. Both patients with active multiple myeloma and smouldering myeloma were examined under exposure to anti-myeloma drugs and hypogammaglobulinemia. It was concluded that the BNT162b2 vaccine is safe for use and possesses high rates of seropositivity in multiple myeloma patients.
BNT162b2 mRNA COVID19
With the cases of COVID19 spreading all over the globe, multiple myeloma patients were observed to be at significant risk with a mortality rate of 33%. Also, data reveals that patients battling with immunity experience a longer duration of disease period and serve as a viral reservoir, thus supporting several viral mutations. BNT162b2 mRNA COVID19 vaccine has shown to provide a 92% of response rate within multiple myeloma patients. The humoral response within the multiple myeloma patients states that the effect of depletion of plasma-cell affects the vaccine response.
Sample Collection
Patients, both male and female above the age of 18-year suffering from active or smouldering multiple myeloma, volunteered for the experiment by visiting Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre (TASMC). These patients were given both doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID19 vaccine, at an interval of 21 days, under the national vaccination program. Patients treated with daratumumab single-agent along with immunomodulatory agents or proteasome inhibitors. The patients received both doses of vaccination before surpassing the serological test for COVID19, which therefore served as controls. The serum samples thus collected from the patients were analyzed. Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2S immunoassay was performed for the quantitative determination of antibodies (Fig 1).
RESULTS
Amongst all the patients, 64 healthy volunteers were included as controls, wherein serological tests were performed in all patients and controls. It was obtained that, patients who were actively treated depicted better treatment response as compared to the patients treated partially at the serological testing. The adverse events in multiple myeloma patients and the control were transient and of grade 1-2. It was observed that nearly 55% of the healthy controls had experienced the adverse event at least once. The pain and weariness were the most frequent adverse events at the injection site in both cohorts.
DISCUSSION
The researchers compared the serologic responses of 171 patients with multiple myeloma to those of age-compatible immunized healthy controls after two doses of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID19 vaccination. Despite the fact that the majority (92%) of the patients were on anti-myeloma medication at the time of vaccination, the response rate was close to 80%. Due to the very poor reaction rates in multiple myeloma patients immunized with pneumococcal or anti-influenza vaccines which hold a population of about 20 –30%. The resultant observations were found to be promising. The combined effect of ageing on the immune system resulted in reduced response rates in elderly people. Patients with low polyclonal globulin levels (hypogammaglobulinemia) and lymphopenia had lower humoral responses.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, given the poor prognosis of COVID19-infected multiple melanoma patients and the high seropositivity rate to BNT162b2 mRNA COVID19 vaccination, it is recommended that all multiple myeloma patients be vaccinated with mRNA anti-COVID vaccine. While the best timing for vaccines in regard to treatment stands to be unknown, there seems to be a high response rate for the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG), which we have maintained in this practice.
Also read: Whitefly hijacks a plant gene- Let’s learn how is that possible?
REFERENCE
- Avivi, I ., Balaban, R., Shragai, T. et al. (2021). Humoral response rate and predictors of response to BNT162b2 mRNA COVID19 vaccine in patients with multiple myeloma. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjh.17608
About author:
Saptaparna Dasgupta, currently a B. Tech 3rd year student, pursuing Biotechnology, is a diligent student and determined in terms of her career goals. Being a budding biotechnologist, she is open to all research fields of her course and passionate about knowledge. She is focused and constantly tries to improve her writing skills, also a project enthusiast and is fond of gaining hands-on experience in laboratories. She believes that all hard work and efforts pay off eventually and follows this as the motto of her life.
- The Corrosion Prediction from the Corrosion Product Performance
- Nitrogen Resilience in Waterlogged Soybean plants
- Cell Senescence in Type II Diabetes: Therapeutic Potential
- Transgene-Free Canker-Resistant Citrus sinensis with Cas12/RNP
- AI Literacy in Early Childhood Education: Challenges and Opportunities
3 thoughts on “A potential Covid vaccine for Multiple Myeloma Patients”