Open AccessLow Serological Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Cancer Patients at a German University Oncology Center
Author(s) -
Oliver Overheu,
Daniel R. Quast,
Wolfgang E. Schmidt,
Türkan Sakinç-Güler,
Anke ReinacherSchick
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
oncology research and treatment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.553
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 2296-5262
pISSN - 2296-5270
DOI - 10.1159/000520572
Subject(s) - serology , covid-19 , medicine , cancer , german , antibody , center (category theory) , virology , oncology , immunology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease , outbreak , geography , chemistry , archaeology , crystallography
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Germany, as in most other places in Europe or worldwide, are still highly prevalent. Vaccination rates currently remain low, putting cancer patients at a continued risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2, while prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among cancer patients in Germany remains essentially unknown. Methods: Between August 2020 and February 2021, patients admitted to our hospital were prospectively enrolled in our COVID-19 biobank. Collected sera were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2-IgM/IgG using Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay. Results: One hundred and ten patients with cancer were included in this study. With 71 (65%) patients, most had active cancer treatment, mainly chemotherapy (56%). The most frequent diagnosis was gastrointestinal cancer (54%) with pancreatic cancer being the most common cancer type (24%). Hematologic malignancies were present in 21 patients (17%). Among the cancer patients first diagnosed during the pandemic, the rate of palliative treatment situations tended to be higher (76% vs. 67%, p = 0.17). A history of SARS-CoV-2 infection was documented in 15 (14%) patients; however, SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detected in 10 (67%) patients only. Of the patients without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, none displayed SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Conclusion: In the present single-center experience, a low serological prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among cancer patients even after SARS-CoV-2 infection was found. The results support continued strict preventive measures as well as efforts toward faster vaccination, due to a low immunity level in the population.