How to Provide the Needed Protection from COVID-19 to Patients with Hematologic Malignancies

Antoni Ribas; Madhav V Dhodapkar; Katie M Campbell; Faith E Davies; Steven D Gore; Ronald Levy; Lee M Greenberger

doi:10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-21-0166

How to Provide the Needed Protection from COVID-19 to Patients with Hematologic Malignancies

Blood Cancer Discov. 2021 Sep 15;2(6):562-567. doi: 10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-21-0166. eCollection 2021 Nov.

Authors

Antoni Ribas¹, Madhav V Dhodapkar², Katie M Campbell³, Faith E Davies^{4

5}, Steven D Gore^{5

6}, Ronald Levy^{5

7}, Lee M Greenberger⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. aribas@mednet.ucla.edu.
² Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
³ Department of Medicine and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
⁴ Department of Medicine and Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University, New York, New York.
⁵ AACR Hematologic Malignancies Task Force, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
⁶ Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
⁷ Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.
⁸ The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Rye Brook, New York.

Abstract

Patients with hematologic malignancies are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 infections, and upon a pooled data analysis of 24 publications, there is evidence that they have suboptimal antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccination and boosters. To provide them the needed additional protection from COVID-19, it is imperative to achieve a 100% full immunization rate in health care workers and adult caretakers, and to foster research to test higher doses and repeated rounds of COVID-19 vaccines and the use of passive immune prophylaxis and therapy.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
COVID-19 Vaccines
COVID-19*
Hematologic Neoplasms* / therapy
Humans
Immunization, Secondary
SARS-CoV-2

Substances

COVID-19 Vaccines

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding