Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version - National Cancer Institute

Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version

Late Effects of the Immune System

Late effects of the immune system have not been well studied, especially in survivors treated with contemporary therapies. Reports published about long-term immune system outcomes are limited by retrospective data collection, small sample size, cohort selection and participation bias, heterogeneity in treatment approach, time since treatment, and method of ascertainment.

Asplenia

Surgical or functional splenectomy increases the risk of life-threatening invasive bacterial infection:[1]

Although staging laparotomy is no longer standard practice for pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma, patients from earlier treatment periods have ongoing risks.[2,3]
Children may be rendered asplenic by radiation therapy to the spleen in doses greater than 30 Gy.[4,5] Low-dose involved-field radiation therapy (21 Gy) combined with multiagent chemotherapy did not appear to adversely affect splenic function, as measured by pitted red blood cell assays.[5] No other studies of immune status after radiation therapy are available.
Functional asplenia (with Howell-Jolly bodies, reduced splenic size and blood flow) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been attributed to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).
Childhood Cancer Survivor Study investigators observed a significantly increased risk of late infection-related mortality among survivors who were treated with splenectomy (relative risk [RR], 7.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.1–19.1). Splenic radiation was also associated with a dose-related risk of late infection-related mortality (0.1–9.9 Gy: RR, 2.0; 95% CI, 0.9–4.5; 10.0–19.9 Gy: RR, 5.5; 95% CI, 1.9–15.4; >20.0 Gy: RR, 6.0; 95% CI, 1.8–20.2). However, the low cumulative incidence of infection-related late mortality of 1.5% at 35 years after splenectomy and 0.6% after splenic radiation indicates that these are rare events.[6] These data underscore the importance of counseling at-risk survivors about immunizations and other measures to reduce infection risk.

Individuals with asplenia, regardless of the reason for the asplenic state, have an increased risk of fulminant bacteremia, especially associated with encapsulated bacteria, which is associated with a high mortality rate. The risk of bacteremia is higher in younger children than in older children, and this risk may be higher during the years immediately after splenectomy. Fulminant septicemia, however, has been reported in adults up to 25 years after splenectomy.

Bacteremia may be caused by the following organisms in asplenic survivors:

Streptococcus pneumoniae. The most common pathogen that causes bacteremia in children with asplenia.
Other streptococci.
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).
Neisseria meningitidis.
Escherichia coli; Staphylococcus aureus.
Gram-negative bacilli, such as the Salmonella species, the Klebsiella species, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Individuals with functional or surgical asplenia are also at increased risk of fatal malaria and severe babesiosis.

Posttherapy management

Clinicians should consider and encourage the administration of inactivated vaccines (e.g., influenza) and vaccines made of purified antigens (e.g., pneumococcus), bacterial components (e.g., diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis), or genetically engineered recombinant antigens (e.g., hepatitis B) in all cancer and transplant survivors according to recommended doses and schedules.[7-9]

Two primary doses of quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine should be administered 2 months apart to children with asplenia, from age 2 years through adolescence, and a booster dose should be administered every 5 years.[10] (Refer to the Immunization Schedules for 2019 section of the Red Book for more information.) However, the efficacy of meningococcal vaccines in children with asplenia has not been established. (Refer to the Meningococcal Infections section of the Red Book for more information.) No known contraindication exists to giving these vaccines at the same time as other required vaccines, in separate syringes, at different sites.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV) are indicated at the recommended age for all children with asplenia. Following the administration of the appropriate number of doses of PCV13, PPSV23 should be administered starting at age 24 months. A second dose should be administered 5 years later. For children aged 2 to 5 years with a complete PCV7 series who have not received PCV13, a supplemental dose of PCV13 should be administered. For asplenic individuals aged 6 to 18 years who have not received a dose of PCV13, a supplemental dose of PCV13 should be considered.[11,12] (Refer to the Pneumococcal Infections section of the Red Book for more information.) Hib immunization should be initiated at age 2 months, as recommended for otherwise healthy young children and for previously unimmunized children with asplenia.[11] (Refer to the Immunization Schedules for 2019 section of the Red Book for more information.)

Daily antimicrobial prophylaxis against pneumococcal infections is recommended for young children with asplenia, regardless of their immunization status. Although the efficacy of daily antimicrobial prophylaxis has been proven only in patients with sickle cell anemia, this experience has been extended to other high-risk children, including asplenic children with a history of malignant neoplasms or thalassemia. In general, antimicrobial prophylaxis (in addition to immunization) should be considered for all children with asplenia younger than 5 years and for at least 1 year after splenectomy.

The age at which antimicrobial prophylaxis is discontinued is an empiric decision. On the basis of a multicenter study in sickle cell disease, prophylactic penicillin can be discontinued at age 5 years among those who are receiving regular medical attention and who have not had a severe pneumococcal infection or surgical splenectomy. The appropriate duration of prophylaxis is unknown for children with asplenia attributable to other causes. Some experts continue prophylaxis throughout childhood and into adulthood for particularly high-risk patients with asplenia.

Table 12 summarizes spleen late effects and the related health screenings.

Table 12. Spleen Late Effectsa

Predisposing Therapy	Immunologic Effects	Health Screening/Interventions
GVHD = graft-versus-host disease; HSCT = hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; IgA = immunoglobulin A; T = temperature.
aAdapted from the Children's Oncology Group Long-Term Follow-Up Guidelines for Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers Exit Disclaimer.
Radiation impacting spleen; splenectomy; HSCT with currently active GVHD	Asplenia/hyposplenia; overwhelming post-splenectomy sepsis	Blood cultures during febrile episodes (T >38.5°C); empiric antibiotics
	Asplenia/hyposplenia; overwhelming post-splenectomy sepsis	Immunization for encapsulated organisms (pneumococcal, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and meningococcal vaccines)
HSCT with any history of chronic GVHD	Immunologic complications (secretory IgA deficiency, hypogammaglobulinemia, decreased B cells, T cell dysfunction, chronic infections [e.g., conjunctivitis, sinusitis, and bronchitis associated with chronic GVHD])	History: chronic conjunctivitis, chronic sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, recurrent or unusual infections, sepsis
HSCT with any history of chronic GVHD		Exam: attention to eyes, nose/sinuses, and lungs

Refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for Preventing Opportunistic Infections Among Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients for more information on posttransplant immunization.

Humoral Immunity

Although the immune system appears to recover from the effects of active chemotherapy and radiation therapy, there is some evidence that lymphoid subsets do not normalize in all survivors. Innate immunity, thymopoiesis, and DNA damage responses to radiation were shown to be abnormal in survivors of childhood leukemia.[13] Defects in immune recovery characterized by B-cell depletion have been observed in 2-year survivors of standard-risk and intermediate-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).[14] Antibody levels to previous vaccinations are also reduced in patients off therapy for ALL for at least 1 year,[15,16] suggesting abnormal humoral immunity [17] and a need for revaccination in such children. Survivors of childhood cancer may remain susceptible to vaccine-preventable infections. Treatment intensity, age at diagnosis, and time from treatment are associated with the risk of losing pre-existing immunity.[18,19]

While there is a paucity of data regarding the benefits of administering active immunizations in this population, reimmunization is necessary to provide protective antibodies. The recommended reimmunization schedule will depend on previously received vaccinations and on the intensity of therapy.[20,21] In some children who received intensive treatment, consideration may be given to evaluating the antibodies against common vaccination antigens to determine the need for revaccination. (Refer to the Immunization Schedules for 2019 section of the Red Book for more information.)

Immune status is also compromised after HSCT, particularly in association with GVHD.[22] In a prospective, longitudinal study of 210 survivors treated with allogeneic HSCT, antibody responses lasting for more than 5 years after immunization were observed in most patients for tetanus (95.7%), rubella (92.3%), poliovirus (97.9%), and, in diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP) recipients, diphtheria (100%). However, responses to pertussis (25.0%), measles (66.7%), mumps (61.5%), hepatitis B (72.9%), and diphtheria in tetanus-diphtheria (Td) recipients (48.6%) were less favorable. Factors associated with vaccine failure include older age at immunization; lower CD3, CD4, or CD19 count; higher immunoglobulin M concentration; positive recipient cytomegalovirus serology; negative titer before immunization; history of acute or chronic GVHD; and radiation conditioning.[23]

Follow-up recommendations for transplant recipients have been published by the major North American and European transplant groups, the CDC, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.[24,25]

Refer to the Children's Oncology Group Long-Term Follow-Up Guidelines for Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers Exit Disclaimer for immune system late effects information including risk factors, evaluation, and health counseling.

References

Immunization in special circumstances. In: Kimberlin DW, Brady MT, Jackson MA, et al., eds.: Red Book: 2018–2021 Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases. 31st ed. Itasca, Ill: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2018, pp 67-111.
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Jockovich M, Mendenhall NP, Sombeck MD, et al.: Long-term complications of laparotomy in Hodgkin's disease. Ann Surg 219 (6): 615-21; discussion 621-4, 1994. [PUBMED Abstract]
Coleman CN, McDougall IR, Dailey MO, et al.: Functional hyposplenia after splenic irradiation for Hodgkin's disease. Ann Intern Med 96 (1): 44-7, 1982. [PUBMED Abstract]
Weiner MA, Landmann RG, DeParedes L, et al.: Vesiculated erythrocytes as a determination of splenic reticuloendothelial function in pediatric patients with Hodgkin's disease. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 17 (4): 338-41, 1995. [PUBMED Abstract]
Weil BR, Madenci AL, Liu Q, et al.: Late Infection-Related Mortality in Asplenic Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A Report From the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. J Clin Oncol 36 (16): 1571-1578, 2018. [PUBMED Abstract]
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases: General recommendations on immunization: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 60 (RR02): 1-60, 2011. Available online Last accessed April 17, 2019.
Bridges CB, Coyne-Beasley T; Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices: Advisory committee on immunization practices recommended immunization schedule for adults aged 19 years or older: United States, 2014. Ann Intern Med 160 (3): 190, 2014. [PUBMED Abstract]
Rubin LG, Levin MJ, Ljungman P, et al.: 2013 IDSA clinical practice guideline for vaccination of the immunocompromised host. Clin Infect Dis 58 (3): 309-18, 2014. [PUBMED Abstract]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for use of quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY-D) among children aged 9 through 23 months at increased risk for invasive meningococcal disease. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 60 (40): 1391-2, 2011. [PUBMED Abstract]
Kimberlin DW, Brady MT, Jackson MA, et al., eds.: Red Book: 2018–2021 Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases. 31st ed. Itasca, Ill: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2018. Also available online Exit Disclaimer. Last accessed April 11, 2019.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Use of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine among children aged 6-18 years with immunocompromising conditions: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 62 (25): 521-4, 2013. [PUBMED Abstract]
Schwartz C L, Hobbie WL, Constine LS, et al., eds.: Survivors of Childhood Cancer: Assessment and Management. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby, 1994.
Koskenvuo M, Ekman I, Saha E, et al.: Immunological Reconstitution in Children After Completing Conventional Chemotherapy of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is Marked by Impaired B-cell Compartment. Pediatr Blood Cancer 63 (9): 1653-6, 2016. [PUBMED Abstract]
Leung W, Neale G, Behm F, et al.: Deficient innate immunity, thymopoiesis, and gene expression response to radiation in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Cancer Epidemiol 34 (3): 303-8, 2010. [PUBMED Abstract]
Aytac S, Yalcin SS, Cetin M, et al.: Measles, mumps, and rubella antibody status and response to immunization in children after therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Pediatr Hematol Oncol 27 (5): 333-43, 2010. [PUBMED Abstract]
Brodtman DH, Rosenthal DW, Redner A, et al.: Immunodeficiency in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after completion of modern aggressive chemotherapeutic regimens. J Pediatr 146 (5): 654-61, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]
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Bochennek K, Allwinn R, Langer R, et al.: Differential loss of humoral immunity against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella-zoster virus in children treated for cancer. Vaccine 32 (27): 3357-61, 2014. [PUBMED Abstract]
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