The flu is bad enough for healthy people, but the disease can place a special burden on those with weakened immune systems, such as patients on chemotherapy. Indeed, because patients with compromised immune systems may be contagious longer than people with healthier immune systems, they may be a reservoir for the disease.
In addition to the yearly toll of ordinary influenza (as many as 36,000 annual fatalities in the US), added concerns over potential threats – an avian flu pandemic or the use of flu as a weapon of biological warfare – put anti-flu measures into the category of biodefense.
Under a biodefense program mandated by US Congress, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in conjunction with the Department of Defense, has awarded the grant to researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.
Patients on chemotherapy, immunosuppressive drugs, or with diseases that weaken the immune system may be especially vulnerable to influenza, whether the ordinary annual variety or deadlier types. The researchers will study how such patients’ vaccine responses change over time:
The full grant encompasses six projects, each of which focuses on particular immunocompromised subpopulations. Ultimately, the researchers expect to have customized treatment recommendations for each group.
Half of the projects cover children at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. One project will study immune responses in children receiving different intensities of chemotherapy for solid tumors and two types of leukemia. Another project is dedicated to children with neuroblastoma who are treated with a novel type of stem cell transplant. A third group of patients has chromosome 22q.11.2 deletion syndrome, a congenital multisystem disorder that impairs the immune system.
Three projects involving adults are led by researchers in the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Two projects involve cancer patients: those receiving stem cell transplants for multiple myeloma and patients with ovarian cancer receiving an experimental treatment – an anticancer vaccine made from dendritic cells. A third group of adult patients suffer from systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjogren’s syndrome.