Efficacy and safety of heterologous booster vaccination with Ad26.COV2.S after BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in haemato-oncological patients with no antibody response

Patients with haemato-oncological malignancies are one of the high-risk groups for a severe course in case of COVID-19 infections. Furthermore, vaccination results in significantly lower response rates in haematological malignancies and lower antibody levels in patients with solid cancer. We investigated efficacy and safety of a heterologous booster vaccination with Ad26.COV2.S DNA vector vaccine in haemato-oncological patients without antibody response after double-dose BNT162b2 messenger (m-)RNA COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 32 haemato-oncological non-responders to double-dose BNT162b2 received a heterologous booster vaccination with Ad26.COV2.S. Blood samples were assessed directly before the vaccination (T0) and four weeks after (T1). Safety assessment was performed using a standardised questionnaire. The overall response rate was 31%, with a mean (SD) antibody titre of 693 center dot 79 (1 096 center dot 99) binding activity units (BAU)/ml. Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia or lymphoma showed a significantly lower response rate (P = 0 center dot 048). Adverse events were reported in 29 center dot 6% of patients, of which 7 center dot 1% were graded as severe, including grade III and IV events following the Common Terminology Criteria of Adverse Events (CTCAE). The heterologous booster vaccination with Ad26.COV2.S led to a serological response in nine out of 29 patients without response after double-dose BNT162b2. Furthermore, the vaccination was safe in our cohort, leading to mainly mild local and systemic reactions. Overall, this vaccination regimen should be further evaluated to increase the response rate in the highly vulnerable population of haemato-oncological patients.

Automated summary

Patients with haemato-oncological malignancies have lower response rates to COVID-19 vaccination, with a heterologous booster vaccination showing promise in improving response rates, although efficacy varies and may result in mild adverse events.