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Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common leukemia worldwide, is associated with increased COVID-19 mortality. Previous studies suggest only a portion of vaccinated CLL patients develop severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike antibodies. Whether the elicited antibodies are functional and/or accompanied by functional T-cell responses is unknown. This prospective cohort study included patients with CLL who received SARS-CoV-2 and PCV13 vaccines (not concurrently). The primary cohort included adults with CLL off therapy. Coprimary outcomes were serologic response to SARS-CoV-2 (receptor binding domain [RBD] immunoassay) and PCV13 vaccines (23-serotype IgG assay). Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and their functional activity and assessment of functional T-cell responses was performed. Sixty percent (18/30) of patients demonstrated serologic responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, appearing more frequent among treatment-naïve patients (72%). Among treatment-naïve patients, an absolute lymphocyte count ≤24 000/µL was associated with serologic response (94% vs 14%; P < .001). On interferon-γ release assays, 80% (16/20) of patients had functional spike-specific T-cell responses, including 78% (7/9) with a negative RBD immunoassay, a group enriched for prior B-cell–depleting therapies. A bead-based multiplex immunoassay identified antibodies against wild-type and variant SARS-CoV-2 (α, β, γ, and δ) in all tested patients and confirmed Fc-receptor binding and effector functions of these antibodies. Of 11 patients with negative RBD immunoassay after vaccination, 6 (55%) responded to an additional mRNA-based vaccine dose. The PCV13 serologic response rate was 29% (8/28). Our data demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 vaccination induces functional T-cell and antibody responses in patients with CLL and provides the framework for investigating the molecular mechanisms and clinical benefit of these responses. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT05007860.

Dabigatran etexilate is the first commercially available oral direct thrombin inhibitor. A single trial has studied patients at risk for stroke associated with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation; in this trial, dabigatran 150 mg twice a day met the criteria for superiority over warfarin in preventing stroke and systemic embolism while reducing the rate of hemorrhagic stroke with a similar risk of major bleeding. For the treatment of venous thromboembolism, dabigatran 150 mg twice a day had comparable efficacy and safety versus warfarin. In contrast, dabigatran was less effective than enoxaparin 30 mg twice a day in venous thromboembolism prevention in orthopedic surgery. Advantages of dabigatran over warfarin include its lack of need for routine laboratory monitoring, a fixed-dose regimen, and potentially fewer clinically important drug interactions. Concerns include higher incidences of dyspepsia and gastrointestinal bleeding, twice-daily dosing, and lack of effective antidote. Additional drawbacks include higher drug cost versus warfarin, accumulation in case of renal impairment, higher discontinuation rates due to adverse events, and limited long-term safety and trial data. From a payer perspective, overall costs will be higher with dabigatran compared with warfarin, but dabigatran does meet the threshold to be considered a cost-effective therapy. In addition, the lack of need for regular laboratory monitoring is a quality of life advantage for patients on dabigatran. These observations suggest that dabigatran is a valuable addition to the therapeutic armamentarium for stroke prevention in selected patients with atrial fibrillation although caution should be exercised given the limited data on this agent and higher cost.

Importance Chemotherapy-related hospitalizations in patients with advanced cancer are common, distressing, and costly. Methods to identify patients at high risk of chemotherapy toxic effects will permit development of targeted strategies to prevent chemotherapy-related hospitalizations. Objective To demonstrate the feasibility of using readily available clinical data to assess patient-specific risk of chemotherapy-related hospitalization. Design, Setting, and Participants Nested case-control study conducted from January 2003 through December 2011 at the Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center, a community-based cancer center in northeastern Massachusetts. The parent cohort included 1579 consecutive patients with advanced solid-tumor cancer receiving palliative-intent chemotherapy. Case patients (n = 146) included all patients from the parent cohort who experienced a chemotherapy-related hospitalization. Controls (n = 292) were randomly selected from 1433 patients who did not experience a chemotherapy-related hospitalization. Exposures Putative risk factors for chemotherapy-related hospitalization—including patient characteristics, treatment characteristics, and pretreatment laboratory values—were abstracted from medical records. Multivariable logistic regression was used to model the patient-specific risk of chemotherapy-related hospitalization. Main Outcomes and Measures Chemotherapy-related hospitalization, as adjudicated by the oncology clinical care team within a systematic quality-assessment program. Results A total of 146 (9.2%) of 1579 patients from the parent cohort experienced a chemotherapy-related hospitalization. In multivariate regression, 7 variables were significantly associated with chemotherapy-related hospitalization: age, Charlson comorbidity score, creatinine clearance, calcium level, below-normal white blood cell and/or platelet count, polychemotherapy (vs monotherapy), and receipt of camptothecin chemotherapy. The median predicted risk of chemotherapy-related hospitalization was 6.0% (interquartile range [IQR], 3.6%-11.4%) in control patients and 14.7% (IQR, 6.8%-22.5%) in case patients. The bootstrap-adjusted C statistic was 0.71 (95% CI, 0.66-0.75). At a risk threshold of 15%, the model exhibited a sensitivity of 49% (95% CI, 41%-57%) and a specificity of 85% (95% CI, 81%-89%) for predicting chemotherapy-related hospitalization. Conclusions and Relevance In patients initiating palliative chemotherapy for cancer, readily available clinical data were associated with the patient-specific risk of chemotherapy-related hospitalization. External validation and evaluation in the context of a clinical decision support tool are warranted.