A study shows that a new mRNA cancer vaccine can reprogram the immune system to attack tumors within 48 hours. The first-ever human clinical trial of four adult patients showed that the jab helps fight aggressive and deadly brain tumors.
It uses technology similar to some COVID-19 vaccines to train the immune system, and it is also personalized to patients using their DNA.
Dr. Elias Sayour of the University of Florida said: “I am hopeful that this could be a new paradigm for how we treat patients, a new platform technology for modulating the immune system.
“I am hopeful that this could synergize with other immunotherapies and perhaps unlock those immunotherapies.
“We showed that you actually can have synergy with other types of immunotherapies, so maybe now we can have a combination approach of immunotherapy.”
mRNA vaccines—like Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 jabs—became widespread during the pandemic, and researchers are now redeploying the technology to treat other diseases.
They work by providing a genetic code for the body’s immune system to read and ramp up production of attack cells. Previous research in mice has shown that jabs are effective in tackling cervical cancer caused by the HPV virus.
The latest study, published in Cell, looked at how mRNA vaccines work against glioblastomas in a human clinical trial.
