mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Offer Suboptimal Immunity for Blood Cancer Patients

According to a New York-City-based Mount Sinai Health System press release, people with a type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma were found with variable responses to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, in some cases, no detectable immune response.

Mount Sinai researchers found that multiple myeloma patients mount variable and sometimes suboptimal responses after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

Almost 16% of these patients developed no detectible antibodies after both vaccine doses. Patients on active cancer treatment had significantly lower antibody levels after two vaccine doses than multiple myeloma patients who were not on treatment at the time of vaccination.

These findings may be relevant to other cancer patients undergoing treatment and to immunocompromised patients. This new study was published in the journal Cancer Cell on June 29, 2021.

"This study underscores the need for routine blood tests on multiple myeloma patients after vaccination to understand their risk and the potential need to continue wearing masks and socially distance until the pandemic wanes," stated co-lead author Samir Parekh, M.D., Director of Translational Research in Multiple Myeloma at The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai and Professor of Medicine, and Oncological Sciences, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

"This also calls for clinical trials to study the use of prophylactic therapies, like monoclonal antibodies, to mitigate COVID-19 risk or to use of different vaccines or booster vaccinations in these patients."

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region.