Validation of "SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines sensitize tumors to immune checkpoint blockade" in an independent cohort of 4,407 patients.

A recent study has demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination within 100 days of initiating immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy is associated with improved overall survival (OS) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and malignant melanoma. We sought to validate these findings in an independent and larger real-world cohort. Using clinical and survival data from the Clalit Health Services, we reproduced the primary analyses of Grippin et al. and confirmed that COVID-19 mRNA vaccination near the time of ICI initiation correlates with improved patient outcomes.