In 2025, it is projected that there will be around 2,041,910 new cancer cases and 618,120 cancer deaths in the United States alone. Researchers have spent decades trying to learn how to fight the various types of cancer. However, they are now working on a universal cancer vaccine that could one day be available off the shelf and will be able to combat multiple cancers. In mouse trials, this mRNA vaccine was able to “supercharge” the effects of immunotherapy. Whereas existing vaccines can target certain tumor proteins, this breakthrough treatment strengthens the immune system as if combating a virus.
The Exciting New Universal Cancer Vaccine
According to the study conducted on mice by the University of Florida, combining the new vaccine with the typically used immune checkpoint inhibitors prompted a strong antitumor response in their trials. The most fascinating aspect of their findings is that they did not go the usual route of attacking a specific protein inside the tumor. Instead, the new vaccine simply boosts the immune system. The research team stimulated the expression of a protein known as PD-L1 inside the tumors of mice, which made them far more receptive to the treatment.
These findings suggest that this treatment would be a safe alternative to radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. According to Inside Precision Medicine the senior author of the study said, “This paper describes a very unexpected and exciting observation: that 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. 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.”
Until recently, the two main concepts in vaccine development for cancer have focused on finding a particular target expressed or tailoring a custom vaccine for a specific individual. This new vaccine represents a third possibility. The researchers found that they could trigger a significant anticancer reaction simply by stimulating an immunological response. “And so this has significant potential to be broadly used across cancer patients – even possibly leading us to an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine,” stated the study’s co-author, Duane Mitchell.
Building on Previous Breakthroughs
According UFHealth, this latest breakthrough has built upon previous successful trials by the same research team, led by Sayour. The first human clinical trial for an mRNA vaccine took place in 2024. The team found that the vaccine rapidly reprogrammed the patients’ immune systems to fight against glioblastoma, a very aggressive type of brain tumor. This method relied on using the patient’s own tumor cells to create a customized vaccine. With this new trial, though, the researchers set out to create a generalized mRNA vaccine. This version did not attack the mutated cancer cells, but rather supercharged their immune systems. While the formulation of this vaccine is quite similar to the COVID mRNA vaccine, it does not directly attack the COVID spike protein.
In their melanoma mouse models, the researchers observed that tumors that were typically resistant to treatment responded to a combination of the mRNA formula and the PD-1 inhibitor. Furthermore, in mouse models of cancers of the brain, bone, and skin, the researchers noted that a different mRNA formulation was able to eliminate tumors entirely, even as a solo treatment. The team found that using an mRNA vaccine in order to activate immune responses triggered T cells that weren’t working before to start to multiply and attack the cancer. According to co-author Duane Mitchell, “It could potentially be a universal way of waking up a patient’s own immune response to cancer, and that would be profound if generalizable to human studies.”
The Bottom Line
The team is currently aiming to improve its existing formulations and start human clinical trials as soon as possible. However, it’s necessary to remain cautious until early-phase studies show that this particular treatment is safe and actually helps patients. However, if it proves to be effective and safe, the payoff could be massive. This type of treatment would be significantly safer than many of the other available alternatives, such as radiation and chemotherapy.
Instead of honing in on one specific target on a tumor, it triggers a strong, virus-like alarm in the body so the immune system wakes up and attacks the cancer. That internal alarm also makes the tumors express more PD-L1, which can make them respond better to existing immunotherapy drugs. Mouse studies have already shown that tumors were able to be reduced. Now, it is up to human trials to verify that the treatment is truly safe and effective. Before long, we could have a universal cancer vaccine available over the counter that works by boosting the patient’s own immune system. What an incredibly exciting time to be alive!
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