Dynamic changes in peripheral lymphocytes and antibody response following a third dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-BNT162b2 vaccine in cancer patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of circulating lymphocytes profiling with antibody response in cancer patients receiving the third dose of COVID-19 mRNA-BNT162b2 vaccine. Immunophenotyping of peripheral blood was used to determine absolute counts of lymphocyte subsets, alongside detection of IgG antibodies against receptor-binding-domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein (S1) before booster dosing (timepoint-1) and four weeks afterward (timepoint-2). An IgG titer ≥ 50 AU/mL defined a positive seroconversion response. An IgG titer ≥ 4446 AU/mL was assumed as a correlate of 50% vaccine efficacy against symptomatic infections. A total of 258 patients on active treatment within the previous six months were enrolled between September 23 and October 7, 2021. The third dose resulted in an exponential increase in median anti-RBD-S1 IgG titer ( P < 0.001), seroconversion rates ( P < 0.001), and 50% vaccine efficacy rates ( P < 0.001). According to ROC curve analysis, T helper and B cells were significantly associated with seroconversion responses at timepoint-1, whereas only B cells were relevant to 50% vaccine efficacy rates at timepoint-2. A positive linear correlation was shown between anti-RBD-S1 IgG titers and these lymphocyte subset counts. Multivariate analysis ruled out a potential role of T helper cells but confirmed a significant interaction between higher B cell levels and improved antibody response. These findings suggest that peripheral counts of B cells correlate with humoral response to the third dose of mRNA-BNT162b2 vaccine in actively treated cancer patients and could provide insights into a more comprehensive assessment of vaccination efficacy.