Advances in Cancer Vaccine Research
There are numerous ways to treat cancer, depending on the type and severity of the disease. Common treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, immunotherapy, and hormonal therapy. Each approach has its own unique advantages and disadvantages, so it is important to discuss with a medical professional which option is best for the individual patient. In addition to these traditional treatments, there are many alternative therapies available, such as acupuncture, herbal supplements, and lifestyle changes, that may be beneficial in helping to manage symptoms and improve quality of life.
A relatively new form of treatment born out of an investigation into the human immune system is cancer vaccines which help individuals protect themselves from certain types of cancers. They work by stimulating the body’s immune system to recognize and attack the cancer cells, in a way similar to how the body fights off other infection-causing organisms. The effectiveness of cancer vaccines varies widely depending on the type of cancer, but they can reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, such as HPV-related cancers or liver cancer caused by the hepatitis B virus. Research is still ongoing, but as vaccine technology advances, scientists are hopeful these vaccines will become more widely available and help reduce the risk of many different types of cancer.
In a study conducted by Khalid Shah, MS, Ph.D., they developed a cell therapy approach to both eliminate established tumors and induce long-term immunization. This innovative dual-action cancer-killing vaccine was tested on mice with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, and the results were promising. The findings were published in Science Translational Medicine, and it marks a major step in the fight against cancer.
mRNA is now being used to create cancer vaccines. mRNA is a molecular form of genetic material that can be used to program cells by providing instructions to produce proteins that are used to stimulate the body’s immune system to fight off cancer cells. This technology has produced multiple promising cancer vaccine candidates. By directly targeting the cancer cells and causing them to generate an immune response, mRNA has the potential to be more effective than other vaccine technologies in treating certain types of cancer. While research is still ongoing, the promise of using mRNA to create cancer vaccines offers hope to individuals with various forms of cancer. According to Karine Breckpot, Ph.D., among the cells capable of taking up mRNA from a vaccine are dendritic cells, termed antigen-presenting cells (APCs), which may accept mRNA from a vaccine. After absorbing and translating the mRNA, these cells can present antigens to T cells and so initiate an immune response. Dr. Breckpot claims that dendritic cells essentially teach T cells how to find and destroy cancerous or virus-infected cells depending on the antigen. The groundwork for a quick production, assembly, and testing of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was set in place over numerous years of research on cancer immunotherapy. This period saw the introduction of treatments such as immune checkpoint inhibitors that led to remarkable and permanent results for some patients. Clinical trials are ongoing to test mRNA treatment vaccines in various types of cancer and in combination with drugs to enhance the body’s immune response. The success of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is believed to have accelerated clinical research on mRNA vaccines for cancer. In dozens of clinical trials, mRNA treatment vaccines are being tested for people with various types of cancer, including pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and melanoma.
Neoantigens are unique molecules that are found on the surface of a person’s cancer cells which can be recognized and attacked by the body’s immune system. The recognition of neoantigens is a key component of an effective tumor-targeting immune response, as the body’s defense system must be able to recognize the cancer cells in order to target and eliminate them. Research is ongoing, but it is hoped that the use of neoantigens in cancer vaccines will significantly improve the efficacy of treatment and provide a more targeted approach to fighting cancer. Neoantigen vaccines are a promising new technology for cancer treatment. By targeting the specific genetic mutations of a person’s cancer, neoantigens can cause the body’s immune system to recognize and attack only the cancer cells, leaving healthy cells unaffected. In early studies, the results of these neoantigen vaccines have been highly promising, leading to increased survival rates in some types of cancer. The hope is that this technology will become increasingly available to more people and provide an effective way to fight cancer with minimal side effects. While more research is needed, the future of neoantigen vaccines looks hopeful and may revolutionize the way cancer is treated.
Julie Bauman, M.D., deputy director of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, is leading a clinical trial which tests a personalized mRNA vaccine in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor on advanced head and neck cancer patients. Initially, the trial was conducted with colorectal cancer patients, but they did not show signs of improvement. The initial data from 10 people with head and neck cancer, however, gave positive results; two patients had all signs of their tumors vanish, and another five experienced tumor shrinking. The trial exhibited two complete responses and was extended to include 40 participants. Even though the sample size is small, there is a sense of guarded optimism among the researchers. The vaccine is created by Moderna in around six weeks through an extensive process that identifies genetic mutations in tumor cells potentially producing neoantigens before selecting the neoantigens most likely to activate T cells for stimulating an immune response. Dr. Bauman believes that the potential of personalized immunotherapy with mRNA vaccines rests in the eliciting T cells to identify individual cancer cells based on their abnormal molecular features.
According to www.clinicaltrials.gov, there are 50 clinical trials ongoing involving neoantigens, alone and in combination with other drugs. These trials target a variety of different cancers. This information was obtained on February 5, 2023.
Written By: Lawrence D. Jones, Ph.D.
Keywords: mRNA vaccines, cancer vaccines, T cell response,
