Researchers from NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh have conducted a clinical study to investigate the extent to which cancer and cancer treatment affects COVID-19 immunity.
Blood samples were taken regularly from over 760 consenting patients, most from Southeast Scotland, who were receiving routine treatments for cancer.
The samples were then tested for signs of an immune response to COVID-19 using an antibody test.
The study is the largest of its kind in the world with the first patients being recruited in May 2020, just months after the United Kingdom experienced its first lockdown.
Dr Peter Hall, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Edinburgh Cancer Centre, said:
“Treatments such as chemotherapy can affect the immune system, so it was really important for us to understand the effects of COVID-19 on people undergoing anti-cancer treatment.
“We now have a better understanding of how the virus affects these patients in the short and long-term, and to what extent the vaccine had an impact on their antibodies.
“It’s very reassuring to see that most cancer patients can go ahead with their treatments without fear of excessive risk from COVID-19, and that vaccination offers an effective means of protection.”
The study found that COVID-19 infection rates in patients with cancer largely mirrored those of their local population and that treatment type did not impact the rate of their antibody response.
It also concluded that vaccination was effective in protecting people with cancer from COVID-19.
Dr Hall continued: “More research is needed, but this was an important step in understanding how people receiving anti-cancer treatment are impacted by the virus.
“It’s also another example of NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh working collaboratively to understand how best to care for some of the most vulnerable patients.”
You can read the Scottish COVID Cancer Immunity Prevalence Study in full in The Oncologist.