Influenza Vaccine in Preventing Flu in Patients Who Have Undergone Stem Cell Transplant and in Healthy Volunteers

Clinical Correlates of Immunologic Responses to the Flu Vaccine

RATIONALE: The influenza vaccine may help prevent flu in patients who have undergone stem cell transplant.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well the influenza vaccine works in preventing flu in patients who have undergone stem cell transplant and in healthy volunteers.

OBJECTIVES:

• To examine the incidence rate of influenza infection over two flu seasons in patients who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at the City of Hope National Medical Center.
• To correlate influenza infection with graft-vs-host disease, age, and transplant type in these patients.
• To examine and compare the incidence rate of influenza in healthy volunteers to the incidence rate in these patients.

OUTLINE: Beginning approximately 2 weeks after vaccination or the onset of flu season, patients and healthy participants undergo nasopharyngeal washes every 14-17 days (2-10 washes) during the months of November-March of the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 flu seasons. Samples are analyzed by direct fluorescent antibodies.

Patients and participants complete case report forms detailing flu-like symptoms experienced in the 2 weeks before sample collection.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 150 patients and 75 healthy volunteers will be accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Meets 1 of the following:

  • Patient at City of Hope or Kaiser hospital who underwent prior autologous or allogeneic matched-related hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or matched-unrelated HSCT for treatment of hematological malignancies, including aplastic anemia or myelodysplastic syndromes

    • Must agree to return to City of Hope for screening every 2-4 weeks during the flu season
    • 100-365 days post-transplant
    • Any prior therapy allowed

  • Employee volunteer from the City of Hope who agrees to have a nasopharyngeal wash performed at General Clinical Research Center every 2 weeks during the flu season

• Must be eligible (per physicians instructions) and vaccinated during the 2008-2009 or 2009-2010 flu season

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Life expectancy > 9 months

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics