Antibody response to polysaccharide conjugate vaccines after nonmyeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation

After allogeneic stem cell transplantation with reduced-intensity conditioning regimens (allo-RIST) patients are susceptible to bacterial and viral infections for a period that may last several years. The efficacy of the recommended vaccination schedules, in terms of induction of a protective antibody response, is unknown. In this study, the reconstitution of humoral immunity after allo-RIST is determined by measuring the vaccination-induced antibody response against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and tetanus toxoid (TT) 1 year posttransplantation. Patients who underwent allo-RIST were vaccinated according to a schedule starting at 12 months following transplantation with conjugated vaccines against S. pneumoniae, Hib, and TT. Of twenty-six patients both pre- and postvaccination sera were available. Patients were required to be off immunosuppression at the time of vaccination, and, therefore, 9 of the 26 patients did not start vaccination at 12 months post-stem cell transplantation but rather at a median range of 15 (12-36 months) posttransplantation. Except for pneumococcal serotype 6B, more than 73% of the patients developed antibody levels >or=0.35 microg/mL for all pneumococcal serotypes included in the vaccine. For Hib and TT, protective antibody levels were found in 77% and 96% of the patients, respectively. Vaccination of patients at a median of 15 months post-allo-RIST leads to significant rise in concentrations of pneumococcal, Hib, and TT antibodies in the majority of patients.