Vaccine hesitancy in patients with solid tumors: a cross-sectional single-center survey

Abstract Background Vaccination rates are still suboptimal in cancer patients. Oncologists play a central role in recommending vaccines to their patients. Our goal was to investigate vaccine acceptance among cancer patients and understand the factors shaping their choices, thereby aiding physicians in better supporting their patients’ vaccination decisions. Methods We designed a prospective cross-sectional survey exploring vaccination status, attitudes, and reasons for hesitancy towards vaccinations against the main vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) among patients undergoing active cancer treatment. The primary endpoint was to evaluate the proportion of vaccinated subjects in our cohort of cancer patients. The secondary endpoints were to assess the proportion of vaccinated subjects against different types of VPDs: flu, COVID-19, pneumococcal disease, Herpes Zoster (HZ). Results Between 12 February and 01 March 2024, a total of three hundred and seventeen patients with cancer were invited to respond to the survey, 309 of whom (97%) agreed to do it. Two hundred seventy-three patients (0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84–0.91) had received at least one vaccination. Two hundred thirty-one patients (74.76%) reported that at their first oncology visit their oncologist recommended vaccinations, primarily anti-flu (92.21%) and anti-SARS-CoV-2 (83.55%) vaccinations, while less frequently the anti-pneumococcal (42.42%) and anti-HZ (37%) vaccines were recommended. On the univariate analysis, age over 75 years (p = 0.041), marital status (p = 0.003) and the oncologist’s vaccine recommendation during the first visit (p