Scientists at the University of Florida have conducted breakthrough research that lead to a universal cancer vaccine. (University of Florida Health )
GAINESVILLE, Fla - Scientists have conducted breakthrough research that could lead to a universal cancer vaccine, revolutionizing how the disease is treated.
What we know:
The study by University of Florida researchers used an experimental messenger RNA, similar to the protein-synthesizing technology in COVID-19 vaccines, to see how the immune system would respond to tumors.
What's notable is that the mRNA was engineered as a generalized vaccine and not designed to target any specific virus or mutated cancer cells.
‘Surprising’ findings
The findings from the mouse-model study surprised even the researchers, who discovered that the test vaccine served to "wake up" the immune system to work to fight the tumor.
What they're saying:
The results from the years-long study were "unexpected and exciting," Dr. Elias Sayour was quoted as saying in a UF Health news release.
Sayour, the study’s senior author and University of Florida Health pediatric oncologist, went on to say, "Even a vaccine not specific to any particular tumor or virus — so long as it is an mRNA vaccine — could lead to tumor-specific effects."
A University of Florida research team led by Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., (center) developed an mRNA vaccine that boosted the tumor-fighting effects of immunotherapy in a mouse-model study. (Photo courtesy of UF Health)
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The study also used a combined treatment of the test vaccine and common anticancer drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors and found the results prompted what was described as a "one-two punch" and a powerful antitumor response.
The therapy stimulated a protein known as PD-L1 expressed by tumors, and made them more receptive to treatment, according to the study.
Sayour also said there were promising results in tumors that were typically treatment resistant when combining the mRNA formulation with a common immunotherapy drug known as PD-1 inhibitor, which attempts to "educate" the immune system that a tumor is foreign.
Furthermore, the therapy also showed beneficial results when testing a different mRNA formulation as a singular treatment on mouse models involving the cancer of skin, bone and brain, researchers found.
"In some models, the tumors were eliminated entirely," UF Health explained.
Dig deeper:
The findings built upon another breakthrough research from Sayour’s team last year. The first ever human mRNA clinical trial involving glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor, showed the vaccine "quickly" reprogrammed the immune system to attack the tumor and prompted "a vigorous immune-system response to reject the tumor," UF Health said in its news release.
Alternative to current treatments
This latest research could lead to alternatives to current cancer treatment options like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapies. It could even be a game changer when dealing with treatment-resistant tumors, researchers said.
"This finding is a proof of concept that these vaccines potentially could be commercialized as universal cancer vaccines to sensitize the immune system against a patient’s individual tumor," said Sayour.
His team noted that until now, the research involving cancer vaccine development focused on either identifying a specific target seen in many people with cancer, or creating a specially tailored vaccine that is specific to targets within a patient's own cancer.
Mass-produced cancer vaccine?
"This study suggests a third emerging paradigm," said Dr. Duane Mitchell, a co-author of the study. "What we found is by using a vaccine designed not to target cancer specifically but rather to stimulate a strong immunologic response, we could elicit a very strong anticancer reaction. And so this has significant potential to be broadly used across cancer patients — even possibly leading us to an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine."
Dr. Duane Mitchell co-authored the research. (Photo courtesy of UF Health)
What's next:
The University of Florida's experimental mRNA vaccine is in the early preclinical testing in mice.
The research team said it is working to enhance the current formulations of its study, with the next step to move to human clinical trials as soon as possible.
"We're actively running trials and will actively run more definitive trials over the next six to 12 months," Dr. Sayour told KTVU, adding that his team is also concurrently conducting multiple ongoing tests.
"If the answers are the right ones," the researcher said, "it could transform the field."
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