flu vaccination in breast cancer patients

Lani · 10-04-2006, 11:04 AM

ABSTRACT: Influenza vaccination in patients with breast cancer: A case-series analysis [Medical Science Monitor; Subscribe]
Background: Our aim was to evaluate the serological response and safety of influenza vaccine in patients with breast cancer in Mexico.

Material/Methods: Between October and December 2001, patients with breast cancer were vaccinated with a split virus vaccine. Hemagglutination inhibition assay titers were measured before vaccination and 4-6 weeks later. Titer ratios were used as the primary measure of response. When comparing rate of response according to treatment, stage, or other patient-related variables, individuals with post vaccination titers ?1:40 for all 3 antigen strains were called respondents.

Results: We analyzed 146 patients who were vaccinated and had influenza antibodies measured before and after vaccination. Seventy-two (49.3%) had locally advanced breast cancer, 117 (80.1%) were receiving cancer treatment, 91 (62.3%) were on chemotherapy. Response to vaccine was 47.2%; we found an additional 25.3% of patients who responded to two of the serotypes. In patients receiving chemotherapy the response rate was lower (p=NS).

Conclusions: The results of the present study show that influenza vaccine is safe and well tolerated in patients with breast cancer, but we observed a lessening of the immune response among patients receiving chemotherapy. Influenza vaccination should be recommended in all patients with breast cancer, regardless of the anti-neoplasic treatment.

StephN · 10-04-2006, 11:58 AM

For the reminder.
I am just about to go out for my visit with my new oncologist, and will add the flu shot to the list of things to discuss or ask for. Maybe she would have brought it up, but now I won't forget for sure!

I get a flu shot at the cancer center each year, and have had nothing more than a little cold in the winters.
On course being careful to stay away from people in stores or other public places who are coughing, sneezing or otherwise look unwell is always helpful.

rinaina · 10-04-2006, 12:35 PM

Funny this post appears now, I just put a call into my onc to ask if it is ok that I get a flu shot and they said next time I am in they will give me one. Guess it is okay.

MCS · 10-04-2006, 02:36 PM

Yeap. It's October and I have it in list to ask at my next visit as well. I got it last year and it worked but I think it helped more to stay away from public places with a lot of crowds and wash, wash, wash hands.

XOXO

MCS ( maria)

Bev · 10-04-2006, 07:23 PM

Lani. Have stage 2 went to stage 4 triple neg friend. What can she do? She's a pharmacist so I guess she has some clue. Help me help her. BB

Lani · 10-06-2006, 11:51 AM

see if your friend can have her slides sent to MD Anderson for a second pathologic opinion. They look for EGFR1 in triple negatives, making treatment with IRESSA/TARCEVA/ ERBITUX / and perhaps Tykerb in a clinical trial. In a minute I will add the latest article I found on triple negative breast cancer --just published a few days ago. It is somewhat difficult as they have fewer targets identified for treatment, although they respond better to chemotherapy than ER+ breast cancer.

Am currently packing to leave Denmark on Tuesday. If you repost your question to me a week from Sunday(allowing me time to recover somewhat from jetlag), I will be happy to do a more extensive search of the literature. I will also go through my email sent to the husband of a triple negative bc patient and forward the pertinent ones via this website to you.

Off to retrieve the recent article PS it is also referred to as basal-type breast cancer.

Lani · 10-06-2006, 11:54 AM

way around it?

1: Trends Mol Med. 2006 Sep 28; [Epub ahead of print] Links
Deconstructing the molecular portrait of basal-like breast cancer.

Yehiely F,
Moyano JV,
Evans JR,
Nielsen TO,
Cryns VL.
Cell Death Regulation Laboratory, Departments of Medicine and Cell and Molecular Biology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
Gene-expression profiling has revealed several molecular subtypes of breast cancer, which differ in their pathobiology and clinical outcomes. Basal-like tumors are a newly recognized subtype of breast cancer, which express genes that are characteristic of basal epithelial cells, such as the basal cytokeratins, and are associated with poor relapse-free and overall survival. However, the genetic and epigenetic alterations that are responsible for the biologically aggressive phenotype of these estrogen receptor-negative and HER2/ErbB2-negative tumors are not well understood, thereby hindering efforts to develop targeted therapies. Here, we focus on new insights into the molecular pathogenesis of basal-like breast cancer and explore how these discoveries might impact the treatment of these poor-prognosis tumors.