I am under treatment with Ibrutinib for CLL and was concerned that the COVID vaccine would not be effective for me (I’ve had both AstraZeneca Jabs) so I’ve recently had an antibody test which confirmed this as my sample showed no antibodies present. Has anybody else discovered this and is there a solution for us on Ibrutinib.
Richard
Most people who take ibrutinib will not get an antibody response to any of the covid vaccines. It is unknown if the vaccines are still providing protection in other ways. I am on acalabrutinib and had no antibody response to vaccine.
My personal view is that I am less protected than those who have an antibody response but more protected than those who did not vaccinate. I have had three jabs now, so my body has seen a version of covid three times.
Possible solutions for us include boosters shots, as I have done, and monoclonal antibodies prescribed for protection. Monoclonal antibodies were recently approved for us if we have been exposed to covid even though we have not tested positive. The hope is that in the near future long lasting monoclonal antibodies will be approved for us.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... I posted this before-inexplicably no one either read it or refused to comment
Wilhoitaz, I’m sure no one “refused” to comment on your earlier sharing of this link. Not many may have read it though. It’s a long article in complicated scientific language. People are far more likely to read and respond if you give a key quote from such an article, or a summary of what it says.
In this case, key quotes would be “Collectively, these data suggest that BTK inhibitors profoundly impact response to vaccines for pathogens in which pre-existing immunity is not present.”
“Without consistent antibody responses, patients with CLL should continue to exercise extreme caution following vaccination until further data on clinical efficacy are available.”
Paula
I missed your post and this article, published in May. A quick read-through indicates the results are in line with other studies in CLL patients.
I had the same result with my antibody test. As prophylactics, I use Vitamin D, Zinc, molecular iodine nasal spray and mouth wash, lugol's iodine supplementation, Ivermectin, transfer factor (claims to support and increase Natural Killer cell activity), Sonovia mask, hand washing and will be implementing the use of Taffix from Israel. Just the basics :)Sources: FLCCC.net, pubmed.gov(nih)
What is Ivermectin and where do yo get it?
It seems the interest in ivermectin was sparked by a fraudulent paper that has heavily biased all the meta-analyses that included it. When that paper is removed from such studies, the composite results from all the other studies show no appreciable difference in outcome:
healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...
I'll be rather surprised if the Oxford PRINCIPLE study results show anything different.
Neil
1. Full strength Ibrutinib seems to protect / help against covid.
2. Maybe we should have a small bit of live covid, as smaller amounts of covid are better than larger amounts which seems to overwhelm.
Hi. I have had both AZ jabs and tested negative for antibodies, My personal thought is that monoclonal antibodies is the way forward.
According to the following paper: haematologica.org/article/v...
Ongoing Ibrutinib treatment does decrease the chance of developing anti-spike antibodies (18% vs. 61% in treatment-naive).
So why not take a break from Ibrutinib,get vaccine, and then resume Ibrutinib?
I have heard of one is on Rituximab or Gazyva infusions the Covid vaccines won’t work especially if you have cd 20 which those 2 infusions target. One would have to possibly wait at least 90 days post treatment to get the vac or get the vaccine 90 days before treatment so those drugs won’t be in your system. I had Rituximab along with Bendemustine but finished in 11/18 so drugs were well out of my system that being said, I only got 1.1 on the semi quantitative spike protein test through LLS
According to the above paper. Once you stop taking Ibrutinib the response rate to the vaccine increases from 18% to 37% . Similarly, stop taking anti-cd20 (e.g. Gazyva) increases the response rate from 5% to 35% but they have reported these numbers based on a year break - which sounds to me too long.
I have been treated with Ibrutinib for 1 1/2 years and was surprised when had a strong response to the Moderna vaccine in the LLS study. I was tested in April, three weeks after my second dose. Have not been re-tested at this point.
Congrats! Is that a self portrait? ..curious
I am also a non- responder to the Pfizer vaccine. I don’t think there is any solution for us other than to isolate.
Richard, without more info (update your profile?) on timing it's hard to answer properly. Your negative Ab result is in line with several studies: few CLL patients in treatment get a measurable Ab response to vaccine. That doesn't necessarily mean zero protection.
Those of us who don't make antibodies still have our T-cell response to infection, which may be primed by vaccination, and in CLL may actually be stronger for patients treated with Ibrutinib.
Solutions? 1. Stay positive, 2. Manage your risks, 3. Take a booster vax when offered, 4. Take prophylactic monoclonals if offered (we live in hope).
I'm on the Loxo 305 (Pirtobrutinb) drug trial, and have zero antibodies post AZ x 2. The research has shown that those taking BTKi drugs are much more likely to produce zero antibodies.
Headaches while taking Ibrutinib
Ibrutinib covid immune system
Stopping Ibrutinib for surgery
Covid - Paxlovid and Ibrutinib 
How soon did Ibrutinib work for you?
