Rare SARS-CoV-2 antibody development in cancer patients

• Published in: Seminars in oncology Vol. 48; no. 2; pp. 160 - 165
• Main Authors: Hempel, Louisa, Molnar, Jakob, Robert, Sebastian, Veloso, Julia, Trepotec, Zeljka, Englisch, Sofie, Weinzierl, Philip, Schick, Cordula, Milani, Valeria, Schweneker, Katrin, Fleischmann, Bastian, Scheiber, Josef, Gandorfer, Beate, Kleespies, Axel, Hempel, Dirk, Riedmann, Kristina, Piehler, Armin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.04.2021; The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc
• Subjects: Cancer; COVID-19; Immunity; SARS-CoV2 antibody development; COVID-19; SARS-CoV2 antibody development; Immunity; Cancer
• ISSN: 0093-7754; 1532-8708
• DOI: 10.1053/j.seminoncol.2020.12.003

SARS-CoV-2 antibody development and immunity will be crucial for the further course of the pandemic. Until now, it has been assumed that patients who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 will develop antibodies as has been the case with other coronaviruses, like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. In the present study, we analyzed the development of antibodies in 77 patients with an oncologic diagnosis 26 days after positive RT-qPCR testing for SARS-CoV2. RT-qPCR and anti-SARS-CoV2-antibody methods from BGI (MGIEasy Magnetic Beads Virus DNA/RNA Extraction Kit) and Roche (Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay) were used, respectively, according to the manufacturers’ specifications. Surprisingly, antibody development was detected in only 6 of 77 individuals with a confirmed history of COVID-19. Despite multiple testing, the remaining patients did not show measurable antibody concentrations in subsequent tests. These results undermine the previous hypothesis that SARS-CoV2 infections are regularly associated with antibody development and cast doubt on the provided immunity to COVID-19. Understanding the adaptive and humoral response to SARS-CoV2 will play a key role in vaccine development and gaining further knowledge on the pathogenesis.