title: Vaccinations in patients with hematological malignancies.
abstract: Patients with hematological malignancies are at risk for a number of infections that are potentially preventable by vaccinations such as pneumococcal infections and influenza. Treatment, especially with anti-B-cell antibodies and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), negatively impacts the response to vaccination for several months. It is therefore recommended that patients be vaccinated before initiating immunosuppressive therapy if possible. The risk of side-effects with inactivated vaccines is low, but care has to be taken with live vaccines, such as varicella-zoster virus vaccine, since severe and fatal complications have been reported. HSCT patients require repeated doses of most vaccines to achieve long-lasting immune responses. New therapeutic options for patients with hematological malignancies that are rapidly being introduced into clinical practice will require additional research regarding the efficacy of vaccinations. New vaccines are also in development that will require well-designed studies to ascertain efficacy and safety.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsigrelis
authors.affiliation: Depts. of Hematology and Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Div. of Hematology, Dept. of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: per.ljungman@ki.se.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ljungman
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D017053:Infection Control; D007239:Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014611:Vaccination; D014612:Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines
keywords: Hematological malignancy; Influenza; Pneumococci; Stem cell transplantation; Vaccination; Varicella-zoster virus