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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Feb 5;15(1):15.
doi: 10.1186/s13045-022-01233-3.

Serologic response following SARS-COV2 vaccination in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Atsushi Sakuraba  1 , Alexander Luna  2 , Dejan Micic  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Serologic response following SARS-COV2 vaccination in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Atsushi Sakuraba et al. J Hematol Oncol. .

Abstract

Purpose: Patients with cancer have an increased risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and an attenuated responses to various vaccines. This meta-analysis aims to assess the serologic response to COVID-19 vaccination in patients with cancer.

Methods: Electronic databases were systematically searched on August 1, 2021 for studies that reported the serologic response to COVID-19 vaccine in cancer patients. Random effects models were used to achieve pooled serologic response rates and odds ratios (ORs).

Results: We analyzed 16 observational studies with a total of 1453 patients with cancer. A majority of studies used mRNA vaccines (BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273). The proportion of patients achieving a serologic response after a single and two doses of COVID-19 vaccine were 54.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 41.0-66.9) and 87.7% (95% CI 82.5-91.5), respectively. Patients with hematologic cancers had a lower response rate after the second dose of vaccine compared to those with solid organ cancers (63.7% vs. 94.9%), which was attributable to the low response rates associated with certain conditions (chronic lymphocytic leukemia, lymphoma) and therapies (anti-CD20, kinase inhibitors). A lower proportion of patients with cancer achieved a serologic response compared to control patients after one and two doses of vaccine (OR0.073 [95% CI 0.026-0.20] and 0.10 [95% CI 0.039-0.26], respectively).

Conclusions: Patients with cancer, especially those with hematologic B-cell malignancies, have a lower serologic response to COVID-19 vaccines. The results suggest that cancer patients should continue to follow safety measures including mask-wearing after vaccination and suggest the need for additional strategies for prophylaxis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cancer; Immunocompromised; Meta-analysis; Outcomes; Vaccine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of the assessment of the studies identified in the meta-analysis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A Meta-analysis of serological response after one dose of vaccine. B Meta-analysis of Serological response after two doses of vaccine
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
A Meta-analysis of serological response compared to controls after one dose of vaccine. B Meta-analysis of serological response compared to controls after two doses of vaccine
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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