"I was delighted to take part in a clinical trial as it has the potential to really help others in the future.”
A trial looking at the V212 vaccine to prevent shingles in people having chemotherapy (V212-011)
Cancer type:
Acute leukaemia
Blood cancers
Chronic leukaemia
High grade lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma
Leukaemia
Low grade lymphoma
Lymphoma
Myeloma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Status:
Results
Phase:
Phase 3
This trial was done to see if a vaccine called V212 could help prevent people getting shingles while they are having treatment.
It was open in various countries for people having chemotherapy for 
or . In the UK it was only open for people with a blood cancer (leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma).
It was open for people to join between 2011 and 2017. The team published the results in 2019. There is a link to more information in the ‘Summary of results’ section below.
More about this trial
Doctors often use chemotherapy to treat cancer. This can cause a drop in blood cells. This includes white blood cells, which are part of the immune system. A drop in white blood cells increases the risk of getting an infection.
is a virus that affects the nerves. It can travel along the nerve to the skin, causing a painful rash. People having chemotherapy have a higher risk of getting shingles if they have low levels of white blood cells.
Doctors hoped the V212 vaccine would help prevent people getting shingles.
People taking part were put into 1 of 2 groups at random:
- half had V212 vaccine injections
- half had dummy (placebo) injections
They had up to 4 injections, each about a month apart.
The main aims of this trial were to find out:
- if the V212 vaccine can prevent shingles in people having chemotherapy
- more about the side effects
Summary of results
We aim to add a lay summary of results to all the trials on our database. Unfortunately we have not been able to include a summary for this one.
There is more information about the results in the link below.
Please note, the information we link to here is not in plain English. It has been written for healthcare professionals and researchers.
Safety and efficacy of inactivated varicella zoster virus vaccine in immunocompromised patients with malignancies: a two-arm, randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial
K Mullane and others
The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2019. Volume 19, issue 9, pages 1001-1012.
Recruitment start:
Recruitment end:
How to join a clinical trial
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.
Chief Investigator
Dr A Peniket
Supported by
Merck, Sharp & Dohme
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
Last review date
CRUK internal database number:
Oracle 10662
Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.
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