Aims: To evaluate antibody response to mRNA vaccine, identify subgroups with poor response and to determine long-term antibody durability in hematological patients.
Materials And Methods: We have vaccinated 292 patients with all hematological malignancies with a third dose of mRNA COMIRNATY vaccine with a 12-month follow-up period in our center in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Results: Antibody response for the whole cohort exceeded 74% through the whole 12-month follow-up.
Despite lower virulence, the omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still poses a relevant threat for immunocompromised patients. A retrospective multicentric study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of pre-exposure prophylaxis with tixagevimab/cilgavimab (Evusheld) with a 6-month follow-up for preventing severe COVID-19 in adult patients with hematology malignancy. Among the 606 patients in the cohort, 96 (16%) contracted COVID-19 with a median of 98.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHaemophagocytic syndrome, diffuse alveolar haemorrhage, catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome and various types of thrombotic microangiopathies are rare conditions with significant morbidity and mortality. A common feature is late diagnosis, which can affect the success of treatment. The aim of this review article is to summarize the basic diagnostic and therapeutic steps of the present subpopulation of critically ill patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural killer (NK) cells are part of a phylogenetically old defense system, which is characterized by its strong cytolytic function against physiologically stressed cells such as tumor cells and virus-infected cells. Their use in the treatment of hematological malignancies may be more advantageous in several ways when compared with the already established T lymphocyte-based immunotherapy. Given the different mechanisms of action, allogeneic NK cell products can be produced in a non-personal based manner without the risk of the formidable graft-versus-host disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has been gradually building its position in the treatment of hematological malignancies. Currently, there are three types of autologous anti-CD19 CAR-T cells approved for the treatment of selected relapsed B cell non-Hodgkins lymphomas and acute B-lymphoblastic leukemia in the Czech Republic. Additional clinical trials are ongoing to evaluate CAR-T cell therapy that targets other tumor-specific antigens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCOVID-19 significantly impairs survival rates among hematological patients when compared to the general population. Our prospective multicentre project analyzed early administration of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (NmAbs) - bamlanivimab (72%) and casirivimab/imdevimab (28%) - efficacy among hematological patients with early-stage COVID-19. Mortality rate was compared to a control cohort of 575 SARS-CoV-2 positive hematological patients untreated with any specific anti-COVID-19 therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRemarkable advances have been achieved in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) in the last decade, which saw targeted immunotherapy, represented by anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies, successfully incorporated across indications. However, myeloma is still considered curable in only a small subset of patients, and the majority of them eventually relapse. B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is expressed exclusively in mature B lymphocytes and plasma cells, and represents an ideal new target for immunotherapy, presented by bispecific antibody (bsAb) constructs, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells.
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