Immunogenicity of Influenza Vaccination in Patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess humoral response to influenza vaccine in patients (pts) with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) as compared to healthy subjects (ctrl). Patients and methods: In two epidemic seasons, 2003/2004 and 2004/2005, 163 pts and 92 ctrl were vaccinated. Antibody titers to hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) were measured in serum samples collected before vaccination, and 1 and 6 months apart. Changes in antibody titers were assessed by comparing geometric mean titers (GMT), mean fold increases (MFI), and seroprotection and seroresponse rates to baseline values. Results: Pts vaccinated in 2003/2004 had, after 1 month, increase in GMT by a factor of 8.64–26.60 for antihemagglutinin antibodies (HI) and 6.93–12.66 for antineuraminidase antibodies (NI), as compared to factor of 9.12–24.41 for HI and 4.83–10.31 for NI in ctrl. At 1 month after vaccination, seroprotection and seroresponse rates were similar in both groups, ranging from 68.42 to