Vaccines

[Anonymous]

Hello,

What can you tell us about the use of Shingrix in patients receiving immunotherapy? I know it probably hasn’t been studied yet in this setting, but do you suspect that it would be safer than Zostavax in this setting (theoretically)?

[Anonymous]

HI Lisa- you ask an excellent question.

– Shingrix is non-live, recombinant vaccine just recently approved for prevention of zoster.
– Zostavax is a live, attenuated vaccine approved for prevention of zoster.

Given the recommendation to avoid live vaccines while on immunotherapy, Shingrix would be the better of the two choices. Agreed- we do not have data regarding safety of use in the setting of immune therapy, specifically immune checkpoint inhibitors, but theoretically…..

This may be an ideal option for patients at risk; and importantly, prevention of zoster prevents associated post-herpetic neuralgia—this is debilitating for some individuals.

Thanks for posing this question Lisa.

[Author]

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