Short-Term Safety and Psychosocial Impact of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in Cancer Patients-An Italian Single-Center Experience.

Safety data regarding BNT162b2 in cancer patients (CPs) are scarce. Herein we report the side effects (SEs), the adverse events (AEs), and the patient-reported outcomes (PROs) following BNT162b2 administration in CPs treated at the San Luigi Gonzaga University Hospital. All CPs who agreed to participate in our vaccination campaign received BNT162b2 and were included in the descriptive analysis. An anonymous questionnaire investigating the occurrence of SEs/AEs and PROs was administered to the study population 21 days after the first dose. Pearson's chi-squared test was used to estimate the risk of experiencing SEs/AEs according to selected variables. A total of 997 patients were included in the study: 62.0% had stage IV cancer, and 68.8% were receiving an active treatment, of whom 15.9% were receiving immunotherapy. SEs/AEs were recorded in 37.1% of cases after the first dose and in 48.5% of cases after the second dose. The most common SEs were muscle pain/local rash (27.9% and 28%, after the first and second dose, respectively). Patients older than 70 years showed lower risk of SEs/AEs, while women showed a higher risk. Before receiving the vaccine, 18.2% of patients felt fearful and/or insecure about the vaccination. After the first dose, 57.5% of patients changed their feelings positively. Our data support the short-term safety of BNT162b2 in CPs, regardless of disease stage and concurrent treatments. Overall, the vaccination showed a positive impact on quality of life.

Humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in five different groups of individuals at different environmental and professional risk of infection.

It is partially unknown whether the immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection persists with time. To address this issue, we detected the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in different groups of individuals previously diagnosed with COVID-19 disease (group 1 and 2), or potentially exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection (group 3 and 4), and in a representative group of individuals with limited environmental exposure to the virus due to lockdown restrictions (group 5). The primary outcome was specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the different groups assessed by qualitative and quantitative analysis at baseline, 3 and 6 months follow-up. The seroconversion rate at baseline test was 95% in group 1, 61% in group 2, 40% in group 3, 17% in group 4 and 3% in group 5. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed male gender, close COVID-19 contact and presence of COVID-19 related symptoms strongly associated with serological positivity. The percentage of positive individuals as assessed by the qualitative and quantitative tests was superimposable. At the quantitative test, the median level of SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels measured in positive cases retested at 6-months increased significantly from baseline. The study indicates that assessing antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 through qualitative and quantitative testing is a reliable disease surveillance tool.

Final data of an Italian multicentric survey about counseling for smoking cessation in patients with diagnosis of a respiratory disease.

INTRODUCTION: Smoking is the major risk factor for cancer and several respiratory diseases. Quitting smoking at any point of life may increase the effectiveness of treatments and improve prognosis of patients with any pulmonary disease, including lung cancer. However, few institutions in Europe offer to patients adequate counseling for smoking cessation. OBJECTIVES: Aim of this study was to investigate the level of counseling for smoking cessation offered by healthcare professionals to patients and their appreciation towards the intervention itself. METHODS: Between January 2013 and February 2016, 490 patients, diagnosed with a respiratory diseases, were prospectively evaluated with an anonymous survey developed by WALCE (Women Against Lung Cancer in Europe). RESULTS: The majority of patients enrolled (76%) declared to have stopped smoking after the diagnosis of a respiratory disease, 17% to smoke less, 7% to continue smoking. Patients who reported to have never received any counseling for smoking cessation were 38%. Almost 73% of the other patients reported a positive judgment about the quality of healthcare's intervention. Despite these favorable considerations, 83% of patients have disclosed they simply quit smoking overnight without help, 5% have used electronic cigarettes, 5% nicotine replacement treatments, 4% dedicated books, 3% have attended a referral clinic. CONCLUSIONS: Considering all the smoking-related side effects, greater efforts should be made in order to better support patients in smoking cessation. Smoking should be considered as a real physical disorder and similar surveys should be encouraged with the aim to fight the 'stigma' of smoking that still exists among patients.