TY - JOUR
T1 - Third BNT162b2 mRNA SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Dose Significantly Enhances Immunogenicity in Recipients of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
AU - Henig, Israel
AU - Isenberg, Jonathan
AU - Yehudai-Ofir, Dana
AU - Leiba, Ronit
AU - Ringelstein-Harlev, Shimrit
AU - Ram, Ron
AU - Avni, Batia
AU - Amit, Odelia
AU - Grisariu, Sigal
AU - Azoulay, Tehila
AU - Slouzkey, Ilana
AU - Zuckerman, Tsila
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - COVID-19-related mortality among hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients in the pre-vaccine era ranged between 22 and 33%. The Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine demonstrated significant immunogenicity and efficacy in the healthy population; however, its long-term effects on allogeneic HSCT recipients remained unclear. Our study longitudinally evaluated humoral and cellular responses to the BNT162b2 vaccine in adult allogeneic HSCT patients. A positive response was defined as antibody titers ≥ 150 AU/mL post-second vaccination. Among 77 included patients, 51 (66.2%) responded to vaccination. Response-associated factors were female gender, recent anti-CD20 therapy, and a longer interval between transplant and vaccination. Response rates reached 83.7% in patients vaccinated >12 months post-transplant. At 6 months post-second vaccination, antibody titers dropped, but were significantly increased with the booster dose. Moreover, 43% (6/14) of non-responders to the second vaccination acquired sufficient antibody titers after booster administration, resulting in an overall response rate of 79.5% for the entire cohort. The BNT162b2 vaccine was effective in allogeneic transplant recipients. Although antibody titers decreased with time, the third vaccination led to their significant elevation, with 93% of third-dose responders maintaining titers above 150 AU/mL at 3 months post-administration.
AB - COVID-19-related mortality among hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients in the pre-vaccine era ranged between 22 and 33%. The Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine demonstrated significant immunogenicity and efficacy in the healthy population; however, its long-term effects on allogeneic HSCT recipients remained unclear. Our study longitudinally evaluated humoral and cellular responses to the BNT162b2 vaccine in adult allogeneic HSCT patients. A positive response was defined as antibody titers ≥ 150 AU/mL post-second vaccination. Among 77 included patients, 51 (66.2%) responded to vaccination. Response-associated factors were female gender, recent anti-CD20 therapy, and a longer interval between transplant and vaccination. Response rates reached 83.7% in patients vaccinated >12 months post-transplant. At 6 months post-second vaccination, antibody titers dropped, but were significantly increased with the booster dose. Moreover, 43% (6/14) of non-responders to the second vaccination acquired sufficient antibody titers after booster administration, resulting in an overall response rate of 79.5% for the entire cohort. The BNT162b2 vaccine was effective in allogeneic transplant recipients. Although antibody titers decreased with time, the third vaccination led to their significant elevation, with 93% of third-dose responders maintaining titers above 150 AU/mL at 3 months post-administration.
KW - allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
KW - BNT162b2
KW - cellular response
KW - immunogenicity
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - vaccine
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85153774877&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/vaccines11040775
DO - 10.3390/vaccines11040775
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AN - SCOPUS:85153774877
SN - 2076-393X
VL - 11
JO - Vaccines
JF - Vaccines
IS - 4
M1 - 775
ER -