A new peer-reviewed study confirmed that cancer patients diagnosed with breakthrough COVID-19 had a 13 percent mortality rate after being vaccinated with full dosage. The patients' data were collected and examined prior to vaccine booster implementation.
COVID-19 in Cancer Patients
The study was the first comprehensive research conducted to evaluate the after-effects of vaccination on patients with cancer. Among the main interests of the paper was to know how the breakthrough COVID-19 inflicts and stays on patients, which commonly results in prolonged hospitalization and, unfortunately, death.
The correlation between cancer, COVID-19, and vaccination was examined through the collaborative efforts of many institutions under the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19). The team consists of over 120 research centers that pledged to join the collective study of the coronavirus's impacts on cancer patients. The study started at the beginning of the pandemic. According to the researchers, fully vaccinated patients with breakthrough infections had a 65 percent hospitalization rate, 19 percent ICU and mechanical vent intervention rate, and 13 percent death rate, respectively.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Department of Medical Oncology expert and senior author of the study Toni Choueiri said in a EurekAlert report that cancer patients infected with breakthrough COVID-19 were not exempted from having severe effects of the disease. With that said, the expert emphasized the set of convenient approaches to prevent the slightest chances of coronavirus-related mortality rate, which includes strict observance of social distancing and wearing of masks.
Choueiri added that along with the protocols implemented, vaccination and booster shots are always considered the most essential protection against the negative effects that the coronavirus might relay in the future.
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Chances of Illness for Fully Vaccinated Cancer Patients Recorded
The study was made possible through the help of participants that had already received complete dosages of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, NIAID, and BioNTech. The information from the cancer patients was gathered before any booster shots were injected into them or was even promoted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for cancer-patient usage. The data collection was processed this year, between November 1 and May 31.
On the other hand, the patients were not analyzed if whether they had active immune response successfully mounted due to lack of data collection in clinical care. The authors noted that these protective antibodies probably failed to mount in the patients' immune systems. Previous findings showed that vaccines were susceptible in cancer patients, especially those who have blood cancers.
Aside from the inadequacy of vaccines in cancer patients, Vanderbilt University's Department of Medicine and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center expert Jeremy Warner explained that there are also a lot of aspects that drive the inefficacy of vaccines. The factors include comorbidities, age, and the underlying progress of cancer itself.
The investigation included 1,787 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 and cancer and was combined with both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Forty-six percent of the 54 patients with full vaccination were recorded with lower lymphocytes - the T and B cells responsible for the body's immunity against viral implications. It also supports the previous studies that patients with hematologic malignancies have a higher risk of suffering severe COVID-19 outcomes.
The study was published in the journal Annals of Oncology, titled "COVID-19 Vaccination and Breakthrough Infections in Patients with Cancer."
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