Ruxolitinib treatment in myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera causes suboptimal humoral immune response following standard and booster vaccination with BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine

Abstract

Patients affected by myelofibrosis (MF) or polycythemia vera (PV) and treated with ruxolitinib are at high risk for severe coronavirus disease 2019. Now a vaccine against the virus SARS-CoV-2, which is responsible for this disease, is available. However, sensitivity to vaccines is usually lower in these patients. Moreover, fragile patients were not included in large trials investigating the efficacy of vaccines. Thus, little is known about the efficacy of this approach in this group of patients. In this prospective single-center study, we evaluated 43 patients (30 MF patients and 13 with PV) receiving ruxolitinib as a treatment for their myeloproliferative disease. We measured anti-spike and anti-nucleocapsid IgG against SARS-CoV2 15-30 days after the second and the third BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine booster dose. Patients receiving ruxolitinib showed an impaired antibody response to complete vaccination (2 doses), as 32.5% of patients did not develop any response. After the third booster dose with Comirnaty, results slightly improved, as 80% of these patients produced antibodies above the threshold positivity. However, the quantity of produced antibodies was well below that reached than those reported for healthy individuals. PV patients elicited a better response than patients affected by MF. Thus, different strategies should be considered for this high-risk group of patients.