Experience with the combination of tixagevimab + cilgavimab for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 in cancer patients: A retrospective analysis

Abstract

Background. COVID-19 (COrona VIrus Disease 2019) is a serious threat to cancer patients, who are at an increased risk of severe infection complications. Pre-exposure prophylaxis with a combination of monoclonal antibodies, tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld), has been shown to be effective in preventing COVID-19, reducing hospital admission rate and mortality in immunocompromised individuals. Aim. To describe the experience of using tixagevimab-cilgavimab for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 in the Russian population of patients with solid tumors receiving antitumor drug therapies. Materials and methods. The retrospective analysis included case histories of 79 patients (57% females and 43% males) with solid tumors treated at the Moscow City Clinical Oncology Hospital No. 1 from October 2022 to June 2023. All patients received tixagevimab-cilgavimab for COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis. Results. The mean age was 64±11 years (32 to 83 years). Seventy-three percent of patients received cytotoxic therapy, associated with an increased risk of infectious complications, including COVID-19. No immediate or delayed adverse events related to tixagevimab-cilgavimab were reported. During the observation period since the drug injection, 3 (3.8%) new mild cases of COVID-19 were reported. Conclusion. Tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld) is safe and effective for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 in the Russian population of patients with solid tumors receiving antitumor drug therapy.