Vaccinations for Patients With Cancer and Cancer Survivors

Patients with cancer and cancer survivors are vulnerable to infection, rendering vaccination a necessary intervention. The vaccination process represents a unique challenge in these populations-it is often impossible or impractical to delay the start of cancer treatment for immunizations, and vaccines may fail to trigger an appropriate protective immune response in immunocompromised patients and cancer survivors, with residual immune deficits. Additionally, live attenuated vaccines are contraindicated due to an increased risk of prolonged shedding and disease presence. The current NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship, which reflect the most up-to-date, evidence-based data relating to survivorship, detail the appropriate immunization practices in these highly susceptible populations.