mRNA Cancer Vaccine Results Elicit Hope of a Universal Treatment

In animal studies, the experimental mRNA vaccine boosted the tumor-fighting effects of immunotherapy and eliminated mouse tumors

Could a vaccine candidate that employs the same strategy used in two COVID-19 vaccines usher in a new wave of treatments for certain cancers? 

That certainly is the hope. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Florida, treated mice with a combination of an mRNA cancer vaccine and a checkpoint inhibitor, a type of immunotherapy. The dual treatment provoked strong antitumor responses in the animals by simply revving up the immune system and provoking it to attack the cancer. The scientists were able to do this by stimulating the expression of a protein on the inside of many tumors that makes them more receptive to treatment. The work was funded by the US National Institutes of Health.

Until now, the two main drivers in cancer vaccine development have been finding a specific target expressed in many people with cancer or tailoring a vaccine specific to targets expressed within a patient’s own cancer. The mRNA study suggests a third way, and one day, it could open the door to a universal cancer vaccine.

The study’s findings were published this week in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

To learn more about this research, check out the full story in SciTechDaily.