EVERYONE must be protected against Covid, but cancer patients more. Because with an often compromised immune system, weakened by treatment or by the tumor itself, they represent one of the categories at greatest risk of developing severe forms of Covid-19: which is always true, but even more so in light of the results obtained by a study by MedUni Vienna, the Austrian capital’s medical university. The study, which was published in the section Letter from Cancer Cellshows that in people suffering from cancer, both solid and haematological, so-called “revolutionary” infections, ie after vaccination or recovery, due to Omicron, are increasing, especially among patients undergoing active treatment.
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by Aureliano Stingi
Tripled reinfections with Omicron
The authors examined data from nearly 4,000 cancer patients who were – or had been – undergoing cancer treatment at the University Hospital of Vienna and the Franz Tappeiner Hospital of Merano. 85% of them had received at least one vaccination with one of the EU-authorized SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Within two years, i.e. between February 2020 and February 2022, 950 (i.e. 24%) had been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Over time, and with the emergence of the Omicron variant, the number of breakthrough infections increased significantly: by January 2022, 70% of infected patients had also been vaccinated. A threefold value – underline the authors of the research – compared to that associated with the Delta, the variant prevalent between October and December. Furthermore, they were significantly more frequent among those undergoing systemic treatment.
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To better understand the reason for such a higher rate of breakthrough infections with Omicron than with Delta, the researchers looked at the antibody titer, i.e. the concentration of neutralizing antibodies present in the blood of 78 cancer patients and 25 people who were not affected by cancer. The result was that in cancer patients, both in those with solid tumors and in those with blood cancers, the ability to protect from the Omicron variant due to the specific antibodies generated by the vaccine was considerably lower than that on which those who were not could count. suffering from cancer. Net of all this, it must be said that vaccinated cancer patients still seem to have a tendency to shorter hospitalizations than unvaccinated ones, and that revolutionary infections have required intensive care only in rare cases.
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“The study shows that the new variants are highly infectious even for cancer patients and confirms the need to continue prevention with the second booster dose, or fourth total dose,” he comments. Saverio Cinieri, president of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (Aiom) and director of the Medical Oncology and Breast Unit of the ‘Perrino’ Hospital in Brindisi. Today, in our country, the fourth dose of anti-Covid-19 vaccines is a reality for immunocompromised patients. Therefore indicated for oncological or onco-haematological patients who take immunosuppressive drugs or who have stopped treatment less than six months ago. “Despite the high rate of infectivity – concludes the oncologist – the symptoms associated with the Omicron variants generally seem much milder than the previous variants. However, it is increasingly clear how important it is to develop vaccines against the new variants “.