Conjugated Pneumococcal Vaccine Triggers a Better Immune Response than Polysaccharide Pneumococcal Vaccine in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia : A Randomized Study by the Swedish CLL group

• Aim: To determine if patients with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) benefit from vaccination with a 13-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13), Prevenar13®, compared with a 23-valent capsular polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23), Pneumovax®, in terms of immune response. Background: Patients with CLL have an increased risk for infection and Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the most common pathogens with high morbidity.  Patients with CLL are known to respond poorly to the traditionally used polysaccharide vaccines. Conjugation of polysaccharide to protein carriers renders a thymus-dependent, memory-inducing and more immunogenic vaccine. In patients with CLL, there is no consensus on a recommendation for pneumococcal vaccination, due to a lack of comparative studies. Methods: 128 treatment naïve CLL patients from eight hematology clinics in Sweden were randomized to vaccination with PCV13 (n=63) or PPSV23 (n=65) after stratification by IgG levels and CLL clinical stage (Rai). Blood samples for evaluation of immune response were obtained at baseline, at one and at six months after vaccination. Analyses for each of the 12 pneumococcal serotypes common for PCV13 and PPSV23 were performed by opsonophagocytic assay (OPA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: PCV13 elicited a superior immune response than PPSV23 in 10/12 serotypes one month after vaccination and in 5/12 serotypes six months after vaccination, measured as OPA geometric mean titers (GMTs). Geometric mean concentrations of serotype-specific IgG antibodies elicited by PCV13 as measured by ELISA, were higher than those elicited by PPSV23 in half of the common serotypes, both after one and six months. The proportion of patients with good response (defined as response in 8 of 12 common serotypes according to predefined response criteria) was higher in PCV13 recipients than in PPSV23 recipients after one month (40% vs. 22%, p=0.034) as well as after six months (33% vs. 17%, p=0.041). Never did PPSV23 trigger a better immune response for any of the serotypes, than PCV13, regardless of analysis. For two of the serotypes, OPA GMTs were lower at the six months than at the one-month follow up. Negative predictive factors for vaccination response were hypogammaglobulinemia and long disease duration. Both vaccines were well tolerated. Conclusions: In patients with previously untreated CLL, the efficacy of PCV13 in terms of immune response is superior to PPSV23 for many serotypes common for the two vaccines. PCV13 should be considered as a part in vaccination programs against Streptococcus pneumoniae for these patients and administered as early as possible during the course of the disease. 

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Immunologi inom det medicinska området (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Immunology in the medical area (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Infektionsmedicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Infectious Medicine (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

vaccine

Pneumococci

Pneumococcal vaccine

Polysaccharide vaccine

protein-conjugate vaccine

immunogenicity

Oncology

Onkologi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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