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Study of the SARS-CoV-2-specific immune T-cell responses in COVID-19-positive cancer patients
Laura Mansi1, Laurie Spehner1, Etienne Daguindau2
1Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital of Besançon, France; INSERM, EFS BFC, UMR1098 RIGHT, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France.
Background:
Cancer patients are considered highly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, delaying cancer-specific therapies could have a deleterious effect on survival. The potential suppressive effects of chemotherapies or cancer-related microenvironment raised the question on how cancer patients' immune system responds to SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Methods:
We have started a prospective monocentric trial entitled COV-CREM (NCT04365322) in April 2020. The primary objective of the trial was to assess specific immune response's intensity and diversity to SARS-CoV-2 in infected patients.
Results:
In this study, we showed that cancer patients (28 solid tumours, 11 haematological malignancies) exposed to SARS-CoV-2 produced a high rate of specific antibodies, as observed in patients without a cancer history (n = 29). However, our results highlight a lack in the generation of T-cell responses against CoV-N, M and S proteins from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, suggesting that cancer patients failed to mount a protective T-cell immunity. Nevertheless, SARS-CoV-2 infection did not impair established immune memory since specific responses against common viruses were not hampered in cancer patients.
Conclusion:
Given the severity and the unknown evolution of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is of fundamental importance to integrate cancer patients in vaccination programs.
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