Search

Aim: This study examined the serum antibody response of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccines in solid and hematologic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Levels of various inflammatory cytokines/chemokines after full vaccination were analyzed. Methods: Forty‐eight patients with solid cancer and 37 with hematologic malignancy who got fully vaccinated either with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 messenger RNA (mRNA) or vector vaccines or their combination were included. After consecutively collecting blood, immunogenicity was assessed by surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT), and cytokine/chemokines were evaluated by Meso Scale Discovery assay. Results: Seropositivity and protective immune response were lower in patients with hematologic cancer compared to those with solid cancers, regardless of vaccine type. Significantly lower sVNT inhibition was observed in patients with hematologic cancer (mean [SD] 45.30 [40.27] %) than in those with solid cancer (mean [SD] 61.78 [34.79] %) (p = 0.047). Heterologous vector/mRNA vaccination was independently and most markedly associated with a higher sVNT inhibition score (p < 0.05), followed by homologous mRNA vaccination. The mean serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)‐1α, and MIP‐1β were significantly higher in patients with hematologic cancers compared to those with solid cancers after the full vaccination. In 36 patients who received an additional booster shot, 29 demonstrated increased antibody titer in terms of mean sVNT (%) (40.80 and 75.21, respectively, before and after the additional dose, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Hematologic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy tended to respond poorly to both COVID‐19 mRNA and vector vaccines and had a significantly lower antibody titer compared to those with solid cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of polycythemia vera (PV) is important. The presence of JAK2 mutations is important in the diagnosis of PV, and serum levels of erythropoietin (EPO) also play a supporting role. However, serum EPO levels show some limitations. The neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are a readily available marker of inflammation. Thus, we examined whether NLR & PLR might diagnose PV in erythrocytosis patients. We compared NLR & PLR and EPO diagnostic values. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical and laboratory data from two referral hospitals. Two hundred and eighty‐five patients with erythrocytosis who underwent a test for the JAK2 mutation were included. It wac classified as the PV group and the secondary polycythemia (SP) group. Results: The median NLR & PLR in the PV group (n = 70) was significantly higher than that in the SP group (n = 170) (NLR: 6.04 vs. 1.77, PLR: 283.18 vs. 101.56, respectively, p < 0.001). In the receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve of NLR & PLR was significantly higher than that of serum EPO (NLR vs EPO: 0.921 vs. 0.827, p = 0.003; PLR vs EPO: 0.917 vs 0.827, p = 0.003). Conclusion: In conclusion, NLR & PLR were higher in PV than in SP and showed better diagnostic value than serum EPO level, highlighting their potential as minor diagnostic criteria in patients with PV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study examined the serum antibody response of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in solid and hematologic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Levels of various inflammatory cytokines/chemokines after full vaccination were analyzed., Methods: Forty-eight patients with solid cancer and 37 with hematologic malignancy who got fully vaccinated either with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 messenger RNA (mRNA) or vector vaccines or their combination were included. After consecutively collecting blood, immunogenicity was assessed by surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT), and cytokine/chemokines were evaluated by Meso Scale Discovery assay., Results: Seropositivity and protective immune response were lower in patients with hematologic cancer compared to those with solid cancers, regardless of vaccine type. Significantly lower sVNT inhibition was observed in patients with hematologic cancer (mean [SD] 45.30 [40.27] %) than in those with solid cancer (mean [SD] 61.78 [34.79] %) (p = 0.047). Heterologous vector/mRNA vaccination was independently and most markedly associated with a higher sVNT inhibition score (p < 0.05), followed by homologous mRNA vaccination. The mean serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, and MIP-1β were significantly higher in patients with hematologic cancers compared to those with solid cancers after the full vaccination. In 36 patients who received an additional booster shot, 29 demonstrated increased antibody titer in terms of mean sVNT (%) (40.80 and 75.21, respectively, before and after the additional dose, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Hematologic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy tended to respond poorly to both COVID-19 mRNA and vector vaccines and had a significantly lower antibody titer compared to those with solid cancers., (© 2023 The Authors. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), which is defined as the presence of blood cells originating from somatically mutated hematopoietic stem cells, is common among the elderly and is associated with an increased risk of hematologic malignancies. We investigated the clinical, mutational, and transcriptomic characteristics in elderly Korean individuals with CHIP mutations., Methods: We investigated CHIP in 90 elderly individuals aged ≥60 years with normal complete blood counts at a tertiary-care hospital in Korea between June 2021 and February 2022. Clinical and laboratory data were prospectively obtained. Targeted next-generation sequencing of 49 myeloid malignancy driver genes and massively parallel RNA sequencing were performed to explore the molecular spectrum and transcriptomic characteristics of CHIP mutations., Results: We detected 51 mutations in 10 genes in 37 (41%) of the study individuals. CHIP prevalence increased with age. CHIP mutations were observed with high prevalence in DNMT3A (26 individuals) and TET2 (eight individuals) and were also found in various other genes, including KDM6A, SMC3, TP53, BRAF, PPM1D, SRSF2, STAG1 , and ZRSR2 . Baseline characteristics, including age, confounding diseases, and blood cell parameters, showed no significant differences. Using mRNA sequencing, we characterized the altered gene expression profile, implicating neutrophil degranulation and innate immune system dysregulation., Conclusions: Somatic CHIP driver mutations are common among the elderly in Korea and are detected in various genes, including DNMT3A and TET2 . Our study highlights that chronic dysregulation of innate immune signaling is associated with the pathogenesis of various diseases, including hematologic malignancies.