BNT162b2 mRNA COVID‐19 vaccine booster induces seroconversion in patients with B‐cell non‐Hodgkin lymphoma who failed to respond to two prior vaccine doses
Irit Avivi, Efrat Luttwak, Esther Saiag, Tami Halperin, Shira Haberman, Ariel Sarig, Sivan Levi, Anat Aharon, Yair Herishanu, Chava Perry
Abstract
This prospective study evaluated seroconversion rates in response to BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) COVID-19 vaccine booster in 44 B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) patients who failed to respond to two prior doses [42 previously exposed to anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (moAbs) including 13 under maintenance treatment]. Seroconversion was obtained in 29.5% of the patients. Longer time from last anti-CD20 moAb (>6 months) and diagnosis of aggressive lymphoma compared to other, incurable B-NHLs were associated with increased seroconversion rates (47.8% vs.10.5%, p = 0.019 and 50% vs. 17.9%, p = 0.025 respectively). Thus, seronegative patients with B-NHL that completed anti-CD20 therapy more than 6 months prior to the booster have greater chances to achieve seroconversion.