Study of Pneumococcal Vaccine Response in Adults With Esophageal or Liver Cancer Receiving Chemoradiation

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying how radiation treatment affects the immune response to pneumococcal vaccines in patients with esophageal cancer who have severe lymphopenia caused by chemoradiation. The study also looks at the effects of chemoradiation and different radiation methods on immunity, pneumonia incidence, tumor response, and clinical outcomes. The research includes healthy volunteers for comparison. The study includes three groups esophageal cancer patients receiving proton therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy IMRT, liver cancer patients treated with proton therapy or IMRT, and healthy volunteers matched by age and gender. Participants receive the pneumonia vaccine by subcutaneous injection. The study observes participants during and after their cancer treatment to evaluate immune responses and related health effects. Participants will be monitored through the course of the study, which lasts about one year on average. Researchers will measure how severe lymphopenia affects vaccine response, track pneumonia cases, and assess immune changes in the blood and tumors. Consent and willingness to participate are required, and healthy volunteers are included for comparison. The study is sponsored by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Serologic Response to Pneumococcal Vaccination Among Esophageal Cancer Patients With High Grade Lymphopenia After Chemoradiation