Scientists have recently reported on the results of a universal cancer vaccine that boosts the immune system to fight tumors and to enhance existing cancer therapies. This vaccine is designed to work across multiple types cancers.
The vaccine targeted solid tumors, which are more resistant to immunotherapy than blood cancers. This could become a universal paradigm that can be used to treat cancer and stop treated cancers from coming back.
This cancer vaccine could be especially useful for types of cancer that usually don’t trigger a strong immune response, including, pancreatic, ovarian, and some types of breast cancer. These tumors hide from the immune system making it difficult to use immunotherapy, so it’s possible that this type of vaccine could help expose these cancers to attack.
Similar to vaccines for the flu and COVID-19, cancer vaccines are designed to help the immune system by training it to recognize proteins and allow the immune system to attack. While conventional vaccines aim to prevent disease (including two cancer vaccines for HPV and Hepatitis B), cancer vaccines are being developed to remove existing cancer tumors and prevent treated cancers from returning.
Conventional vaccines and cancer vaccines typically use the same mechanism. The cancer vaccines teach immune cells to identify unique features of cancer cells and destroy them.
The experimental vaccine was developed using messenger RNA (mRNA), which also was used for the first COVID-19 vaccines. In this early-stage cancer vaccine, the mRNA carries instructions that raises the body’s first-line immune defenses. In particular, the vaccine aims to boost the body’s production of immune messengers that spot cancerous tumors. The signals rally the immune system to attack the tumors and stop the cancer’s growth. This signaling is key to destroying tumors at the early stage of development.
The vaccine has been tested on several cancers in mice, including melanoma, brain, bone and lung cancers and the results were promising.
While human research is needed to confirm how well this approach works, the encouraging results in mice offer interesting possibilities. Future studies will address key questions around safety, consistency, and long-term effectiveness in real-world cancer patients.
That is the exciting news…however.
Recently the U.S. federal government has moved to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for mRNA vaccine development. Led by Robert Kennedy, Jr, the misinformed head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), it is slashing its investment in mRNA vaccines impacting 22 projects totaling nearly $500 million.
To date, influenza, RSV, bird flu, CMV (a herpes virus that can cause serious developmental problems in infants), Zika, Epstein-Barr virus, and hepatitis B vaccines have been targeted.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr is the founder of the anti-vaccine group the Children’s Health Defense. Despite a plethora of research stating otherwise, he claimed that mRNA vaccines “fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections” and said that the HHS will shift to funding “safer, broader vaccine platforms.” These alternatives were defined as whole-virus vaccines and unspecified technologies. Despite research showing that these are less efficient, slower, and less effective.
The arguments made by RFK Jr are not based on scientific research and correspondingly, most of his statements are false.
Not continuing to investigate the usage of a technology that has proven itself in the COVID 19 pandemic puts Americans in harm’s way for bird flu and another pandemic.
Before mRNA technology, traditional vaccines typically took between three to five years to develop and even longer to test, with mRNA it takes months. Other countries, such as China, recognize the power of mRNA vaccines and medicines and are doubling down on their investment. If there is a pandemic, such as avian flu we’re going to be caught asking China for its vaccines. Scientists now consider the United States to be an unfriendly place for mRNA-based technology.
For now, this cancellation of funds will not impact uses of mRNA technology in cancer vaccines. Even though the cancellation was specific to infectious disease, it really discouraging to the entire industry.”
Besides cancer research, mRNA technology is also being used with CRISPR. CRISPR is a gene editing tool that has significant promise for curing genetic disorders. The limitation of CRISPR gene editing is being able to stop it. mRNA makes gene editing possible because it enables the insertion of the corrected genome and it stops it from over-replicating. CRISPR has been used (experimentally) with cancer, diabetes and sickle cell anemia. The CRISPR technology was introduced via mRNA. mRNA is safe because the body makes and then clears the mRNA as part of its normal process.
By undermining mRNA-based work, HHS is potentially limiting the ability to use a personalized medicine approach of gene editing that could save millions of lives every year.
With the cuts in mRNA funding, there are now other countries that are recruiting American companies and scientists. In addition to moving their brick-and-mortar operations overseas, these American companies will start developing drugs for other countries. This will impact America’s leadership in biomedical discovery.
Why is there this resistance to mRNA? In a word, its complexity.
Some Americans don’t understand that mRNA is a natural substance, a natural part of our body. Every cell in our body has mRNA — thousands of copies of mRNA. With mRNA-based medicines, we’re actually taking advantage of a natural system that exists within our body and using our body to help itself.
Let’s hope that our country can survive four years or more of this type of scientific ignorance.
Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.
Sarah Oppenheimer says
Perhaps the resistance to mRNA has less to do with complexity and more to do with how the ‘experts’ lost the people’s trust by politicizing it in 2020-2021. When the CDC and the media straight up lied saying it was 90something% effective in stopping the virus. Then later admitted young people didn’t really need it. Or when Kamala Harris said before the 2020 election that she would never trust a shot that President Trump had anything to do with then after the election mandated people take it or get fire from their jobs. Or perhaps it was the fact that the regular flu just disappeared in 2020-2021. Weird. Or maybe it was how wealthy aging boomers were willing to let the younger generations suffer, supporting closing schools, masking children for years, shutting down small businesses all while they hissed lectures about ‘doing your part’ and the ‘unvaccinated are the problem’ from the comfort of their cushy homes. I do not know one person who regrets not taking the covid shot. I know many who regret giving it to their children.
Kent Robertson says
Sarah hits the nail on the head. She doesn’t mention the other elephant in the room…the large number of mRNA-vaccinated people who have died or suffer chronic disease since getting the jab. This technology was pushed before it had adequate vetting. It was neither “safe” nor “effective” as the medical bureaucracies, pharmaceutical companies, and media said it was. In theory, mRNA technology has great promise. I am glad to see that NIH funding for its application in cancer treatment will continue. Let’s hope that it is carried out with due diligence.
Marcia Kirby says
Sarah, I’d be interested in knowing how many family members of the over 1 million people who died of Covid in the U.S. that you’ve talked to? How many of those deaths were in people who refused the vaccine? How many people who survived, but were hospitalized with Covid because of refusing the vaccine, have you talked to?
Sarah Oppenheimer says
I have talked to many. I also have several close friends and a family member who were not ‘allowed’ to be with their dying loved ones at the end. And were not ‘allowed’ to gather to mourn those loved ones.
Glenn Robbins says
Source & Context
Reported Efficacy
Pfizer (interim Phase 3 clinical trial)
>90%
Dr. Fauci (comment on Pfizer’s data)
“Just extraordinary”
CDC real-world study (health-care workers)
90%
CDC broad real-world effectiveness study
94%
CDC June 2021 real-world data
91%
CDC: Protection against IMV/death
~90% (2 doses), 94% (3 doses)