According to a study, a novel mRNA cancer vaccine can rewire the immune system to target tumors in as little as 48 hours.
Four adult patients in the first-ever human clinical trial demonstrated that the injection aids in the battle against aggressive and lethal brain tumors.
It trains the immune system using technology akin to that of some Covid vaccinations and is customized for each patient based on their DNA.
“I am hopeful that this could be a new paradigm for how we treat patients, a new platform technology for how we can modulate the immune system,” stated Dr. Elias Sayour of the University of Florida.I’m excited about the potential for this to now work in concert with other immunotherapies and possibly even unlock them.
“We demonstrated that immunotherapies can work in concert with one another, so perhaps a combination approach to immunotherapy is now possible.”
mRNA vaccines, such as the Covid shots from Pfizer and Moderna, gained popularity during the pandemic, and scientists are currently using the technology to work on other illnesses.
They function by giving the immune system of the body a genetic code to read, which causes it to produce more attack cells.
Prior studies conducted on mice have demonstrated the efficacy of these vaccinations in combating HPV-related cervical cancer.
The most recent study examined the effectiveness of mRNA vaccinations against glioblastomas in a human clinical trial; it was published in Cell.
Seven years of research on mRNA brain cancer shots, including preclinical mice models, were presented in the publication.
In addition, ten companion dogs with terminal brain cancer who had no other choices for treatment participated in a research experiment.
The jab showed promise in curing the condition, according to the results from both, which led to more human studies.
Although it is still too early in the trial to evaluate the vaccine’s therapeutic effects, the patients either outlived expectations in terms of survival or length of time without sickness.
