Limited increase in antibody titers following mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for more than 3 years after final dose of anti-CD20 antibody

Yohei Funakoshi; Kimikazu Yakushijin; Goh Ohji; Wataru Hojo; Hironori Sakai; Marika Watanabe; Miki Saeki; Yuri Hirakawa; Rina Sakai; Sakuya Matsumoto; Yu Mizutani; Akihito Kitao; Yoshiharu Miyata; Yasuyuki Saito; Shinichiro Kawamoto; Katsuya Yamamoto; Mitsuhiro Ito; Meiko Nishimura; Yoshinori Imamura; Naomi Kiyota; Hiroshi Matsuoka; Yasuko Mori; Hironobu Minami

doi:10.1007/s12185-021-03247-y

Limited increase in antibody titers following mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for more than 3 years after final dose of anti-CD20 antibody

Int J Hematol. 2022 Jan;115(1):7-10. doi: 10.1007/s12185-021-03247-y. Epub 2022 Jan 4.

Authors

Yohei Funakoshi^#¹, Kimikazu Yakushijin^#², Goh Ohji³, Wataru Hojo⁴, Hironori Sakai⁴, Marika Watanabe², Miki Saeki², Yuri Hirakawa², Rina Sakai², Sakuya Matsumoto², Yu Mizutani², Akihito Kitao², Yoshiharu Miyata⁵, Yasuyuki Saito⁶, Shinichiro Kawamoto⁷, Katsuya Yamamoto², Mitsuhiro Ito⁸, Meiko Nishimura², Yoshinori Imamura², Naomi Kiyota^{2

9}, Hiroshi Matsuoka⁵, Yasuko Mori¹⁰, Hironobu Minami^{2

9}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Medical Oncology/Hematology, Department of Medicine, Kobe University Hospital and Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan. yohei@med.kobe-u.ac.jp.
² Division of Medical Oncology/Hematology, Department of Medicine, Kobe University Hospital and Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
³ Division of Infection Disease Therapeutics, Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Kobe University Hospital and Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
⁴ R&D, Cellspect Co., Ltd, Morioka, Iwate, Japan.
⁵ BioResource Center, Kobe University Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
⁶ Division of Molecular and Cellular Signaling, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
⁷ Department of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, Kobe University Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
⁸ Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan.
⁹ Cancer Center, Kobe University Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
¹⁰ Division of Clinical Virology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

We investigated the efficacy of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in patients with B-cell malignancies treated with anti-CD20 antibody. Although T-cell-mediated immune responses were detected even in patients receiving R-CHOP treatment, the S1 antibody titer following BNT162b2 vaccination remained only marginally increased for more than 3 years after the final dose of anti-CD20 antibody. We found no relationship between the percent of B-cells and S1 antibody titer. The duration of this suppression was much longer than we anticipated. Further protection and treatment strategies against COVID-19 for these patients are warranted.

Keywords: Anti-CD20 antibody; B-cell malignancies; SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / therapeutic use*
Antibody Formation
Antigens, CD20 / immunology
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use*
BNT162 Vaccine / therapeutic use*
COVID-19 / immunology
COVID-19 / prevention & control*
Cyclophosphamide / therapeutic use
Doxorubicin / therapeutic use
Female
Humans
Lymphoma, B-Cell / complications*
Lymphoma, B-Cell / drug therapy*
Lymphoma, B-Cell / immunology
Male
Middle Aged
Prednisone / therapeutic use
Rituximab / therapeutic use
Vincristine / therapeutic use

Substances

Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
Antigens, CD20
R-CHOP protocol
Rituximab
Vincristine
Doxorubicin
Cyclophosphamide
BNT162 Vaccine
obinutuzumab
Prednisone