National Cancer Institute
Cancer vaccines aren’t a new concept by any means. The goal for these kinds of jabs is to prime the immune system into better recognizing and killing cancerous cells, helping to eliminate tumors and stave off relapse. The work done during the pandemic has pushed forward the promise of such treatments by adding a new wrinkle to vaccine development: mRNA.
In a new study published Wednesday in Nature, U.S. researchers unveiled a new personalized mRNA vaccine that can be used to combat a particular form of pancreatic cancer called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). In a Phase 1 trial, PDAC patients jabbed with the vaccine in combination with chemotherapy and immunotherapy developed a substantial immune response that remained robust even 18 months later.
By 2025, pancreatic cancer is expected to be the second leading cause of death by cancer, second only to lung cancer. Nearly 88 percent of patients die even after chemotherapy and radiation treatment, “highlighting the need for urgent novel treatment,” Memorial Sloan Kettering surgical oncologist Vinod Balachandran, a senior author for the new study, told The Daily Beast.