Abstract PO4-27-01: COVID-19 Vaccination Behavior and Outcomes in Breast Cancer Patients in comparison with other Cancer types
Authors: Polimera Hyma , Guare Emma , Pomerantz Lauren , Vasekar Monali , Zhu Junjia , Joshi Monika 
Published: May 2024

Background: Cancer(ca) is a known risk factor for severe COVID-19 (C19) disease, related morbidity, and mortality. Ca patients (pts) were largely excluded from clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of the 3 FDA-approved C19 vaccines (vax). Breast cancer (Bca) is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin ca, and accounts for ~ 30% of all new female cancers each year. The pandemic has led to disruptions in Bca care including screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up which will likely have an impact on Bca mortality. We aim to study behavior and outcomes regarding C19 vax in Bca pts comparison to non-Bca pts.

Methods: In our prospective and observational single center study; adult ca pts (18-89 years) seen in clinics from Nov 2021-Sept 2022 were randomly interviewed using telephone surveys after a verbal consent. Type of ca and therapy data were collected from medical records. The survey included C19 disease status, vax status positive (+) or negative (-), reason for vax status, side effects (s.e), and their perspective on impact on ca Rx or ca progression. The primary objective was to identify the rate of vaccination in adult ca pts. Secondary objectives were to quantify C19 vax acceptance vs. hesitance, identify s.e of C19 vax and effect of C19 vax on outcomes in Bca and non-Bca pts.

Results: N=170 [Bca 45 (26.5%) and non-Bca 125 (73.5%)]. Among Bca pts: 40 (88.9%) were ER+, 34 (75.5%) PR+, and 9 (20%) HER2+. Of them, 20 (44.4%) pts received cytotoxic chemotherapy and 39 (86.7%) pts received hormonal therapy alone. Refer to Table 1 for key outcomes data. Top 3 risk factors for serious C19+ in Bca pts were age &gt;65yr (42.2%), BMI &gt;30 (42.2%) and smoking (24.4%); and in non Bca pts: age &gt;65yr (52%), BMI &gt;30 (34.4%) and immunocompromised state (23.2%). Top 3 reasons for C19 vax (+) in Bca pts: protection against C19+ for self (82.2%), for others (37.8%) and provider recommendation (46.7%). The main reasons for vax hesitancy in C19 vax (-) Bca pts: fear of side effects (4.4%), prior C19 infection (4.4%) and don’t trust the research behind it (2.2%). The common s.e of C19 vax in Bca pts were fatigue (40%), injection site inflammation (35.6%) and body aches (31.1%). Also, 13.3% of Bca pts developed lymphadenopathy. A total of 71.1% Bca pts developed ‘minor s.e’ from C19 vax, compared to 33.1% in non-Bca pts (p=0.0001). However, none of Bca pts reported progression of the disease or delay in cancer Rx or outcome due to C-19 vax.

Conclusion: Majority of the Bca pts were vaccinated against C19 and tolerated it well. Even though significantly higher number of Bca pts had side effects, they were minor and did not impact Bca outcomes. Oncologists should discuss the importance of C19 vax in the context of ca.

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Citation Format: Hyma Polimera, Emma Guare, Lauren Pomerantz, Monali Vasekar, Junjia Zhu, Monika Joshi. COVID-19 Vaccination Behavior and Outcomes in Breast Cancer Patients in comparison with other Cancer types [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO4-27-01.