[Stann]

Measles booster vaccine for non-transplant patients?

by Stann on Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:09 pm

Would somebody with multiple myeloma who has not had a transplant benefit from a measles booster vaccination?

[Cheryl G]

Re: Measles booster vaccine for non-transplant patients?

by Cheryl G on Fri Jan 30, 2015 7:46 pm

Stann - I thought you had tandem stem cell transplants? If that's the case, why are you asking about a booster vaccination for a non-transplant patient?

[Stann]

Re: Measles booster vaccine for non-transplant patients?

by Stann on Mon Feb 23, 2015 5:02 pm

Hi Cheryl,

I am friends with a multiple myeloma patient who decided due to his age he didn't want to have a transplant. And he lives in San Francisco, where many people have decided vaccinating their babies is too dangerous. In other words, other babies and immunity-challenged folks have a higher chance of catching some of these diseases.

[Multibilly]

Re: Measles booster vaccine for non-transplant patients?

by Multibilly on Mon Feb 23, 2015 6:09 pm

Stann,

I might suggest you look at this thread since I am currently debating this topic myself, but as a smoldering patient.

"MMR vaccine for smoldering myeloma patient?", forum disc. started Feb 12, 2015.

I'm not a doc, but I might suggest that your friend first gets a titer test to see if he/she even needs an MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) booster. Note that you can no longer get just a stand-alone measles vaccine, so it would have to be the MMR vaccine.

That person may then want to discuss with his/her specialist just how impaired the doctor thinks that person's immune system is and whether it is worth the risk of getting a live vaccine or not. I've received conflicting guidance on this topic and will likely wait till I see my multiple myeloma specialist before making my final decision.

[Dr. Jason Valent]

Re: Measles booster vaccine for non-transplant patients?

by Dr. Jason Valent on Mon Feb 23, 2015 6:25 pm

Tough question!

First step is, as Multibilly has suggested, to have the patient's "titers" checked to see if he or she has immunity from the vaccine. Immunity can persist even after stem cell transplant.

As a general rule, I do not recommend live virus vaccines (i.e., Zostavax) for multiple myeloma patients. However, if a patient's myeloma is well controlled, and there is significant concern regarding the measles outbreak in California, this may be something that could be considered after a discussion with the patient's doctor and analysis of the patient's immune system func­tion.

Again, it would only be necessary if immunity is not confirmed by titer testing.

[goldmine848]

Re: Measles booster vaccine for non-transplant patients?

by goldmine848 on Tue Feb 24, 2015 10:09 am

Can someone explain how the titer test is performed and what type of doctor needs to be consulted to have the test ordered?

[Multibilly]

Re: Measles booster vaccine for non-transplant patients?

by Multibilly on Tue Feb 24, 2015 10:35 am

Andrew: Any doc, including your general physician, can order a titer test.

It simply measures the amount of antibodies specific to a given disease for which the test is ordered. When you get a titer test, you specify the disease for which the test is targeted.

So, I recently requested an MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) titer test and a varicella zoster (shingles) titer test from my GP. I then got back four different titer results (individual titer results for measles, mumps, rubella and shingles). Each titer test returns a specific value representing the amount of antibodies specific to that given disease. The test will also tell you if you are considered to have immunity or not based on the titer value that comes back. But the test can't distinguish between whether your immunity is based on having previously contracted the disease or having been vaccinated in the past.