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COVID-19 vaccines offer robust protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in people with cancer, according to an article published online June 5 in Cancer Cell. Vaccine protection levels are generally better for people with solid cancers than for patients with cancers of the blood, the researchers report, although most people with any cancer made detectable antibodies to the coronavirus after receiving a vaccine. Patients receiving treatments that suppressed the activity of their immune system, such as B cell–depleting therapies for leukemia, produced fewer antibodies after receiving a vaccine than did recipients with solid cancer.
Earlier this year, oncologists reported that COVID-19 is deadlier for people with blood cancer than it is for people with solid tumors. This was before vaccine uptake was widespread in the United States. The authors of the current study suggest that almost all people with cancer would benefit from vaccination, perhaps coupled with ...
