Cladribine has been approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and its administration results in a long-lasting depletion of lymphocytes. As lymphopenia is known to hamper immune responses to vaccination, we evaluated the immunogenicity of the influenza vaccine in patients undergoing cladribine treatment at different stages vs. controls. The antibody response in 90 cladribine-treated MS patients was prospectively compared with 10 control subjects receiving platform immunotherapy (NCT05019248). Serum samples were collected before and six months after vaccination. Response to vaccination was determined by the hemagglutination-inhibition test. Postvaccination seroprotection rates against influenza A were comparable in cladribine-treated patients and controls (H1N1: 94.4% vs. 100%; H3N2: 92.2% vs. 90.0%). Influenza B response was lower in the cladribine cohort (61.1% vs. 80%). The increase in geometric mean titers was lower in the cladribine group vs. controls (H1N1: +98.5 vs. +188.1; H3N2: +225.3 vs. +300.0; influenza B: +40.0 vs. +78.4); however, titers increased in both groups for all strains. Seroprotection was achieved irrespective of vaccination timing and lymphocyte subset counts at the time of vaccination in the cladribine cohort. To conclude, cladribine-treated MS patients can mount an adequate immune response to influenza independently of treatment duration and time interval to the last cladribine administration.
Keywords: cladribine; immunization; influenza; multiple sclerosis; vaccination.