People with certain forms of cancer live longer after the anti-Covid mRNA vaccine, a new study shows – surprising, even in the context of skepticism and conspiracy theories that have surrounded the vaccine globally. Researchers have found that mRNA vaccines can boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatments against skin and lung cancer, giving patients an unexpected chance of survival.
Anti-Covid mRNA vaccine, cancer-fighting secret weapon, study says Foto PharmacyMagazine
The finding suggests that a “cancer vaccine“ it might already exist, without having been created with this intention. Analysis of medical records showed that patients with certain lethal forms of cancer lived longer if they had received an anti-Covid mRNA vaccine compared to those who had not been vaccinated.
In this material you will discover how anti-Covid mRNA vaccines can stimulate the immune system to fight cancer, how the effects have been confirmed both in animals and in patients with skin and lung cancer, what types of cancer therapies can be boosted, and why the timing of vaccine administration is crucial for treatment effectiveness. We will also explore the prospects for future studies and the possibility that mRNA vaccines may become an unexpected ally in the fight against cancer.
The mRNA vaccine increases the survival of cancer patients – also confirmed in animals
Subsequent experiments in mice showed that the effect was not due to protection against COVID-19, but to strong activation of the immune system by the mRNA vaccines. mRNA vaccines contain genetic instructions that teach the body’s cells to produce a specific virus protein, causing the immune system to recognize and fight the pathogen. This reaction appears to enhance the effectiveness of some therapies already used in oncology, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors.
“The mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine acts as an alarm siren that stimulates the immune system throughout the body – including inside tumors, where it appears to trigger a response against cancer cells. The results observed in patients surprised us”admits Adam Grippin, oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center and co-author of the study published in the journal naturally.
The findings, which Grippin and his team hope to confirm in a dedicated clinical trial, suggest hidden and unexplored capabilities of mRNA vaccines, even as the US administration led by Donald Trump has cut about $500 million in research funding for the technology. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the agency that decided to cancel the funding, did not offer any comment on the decision.
mRNA vaccine and immunotherapy: the combination that is changing cancer treatment
Think of your immune system as an army of soldiers patrolling the body. Sometimes tumors make their way “shields” to hide and the soldiers cannot detect or destroy them. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are like commands that encourage soldiers to ignore shields and attack cancer cells.
These drugs have revolutionized treatments for many types of cancer, but in more than half of the cases, “army” does not respond strongly enough. The tumors remain untouched and the disease continues to progress.
To overcome this problem, researchers are working on “personalized cancer vaccines”. These work like “special maps” which teaches the soldiers of the immune system exactly what the unique mutations in each patient’s cancer cells look like, so that the attack is much more precise.
Preliminary results are promising, but these treatments are still in the experimental phase. When they become available, they will likely be expensive and difficult to access, but they open a fascinating path to the future of cancer therapy.
The mRNA vaccine: the alarm that wakes up the immune system against tumors
Starting from the idea that some tumors “fall asleep” immune system, the team led by Adam Grippin wondered: could mRNA vaccines – such as those against COVID – “wake up” the body’s soldiers and make them more effective against cancer?
Tests on mice have shown that the answer is positive. So the researchers turned to patients. Analyzing the medical records of more than 1,000 people with lung cancer or melanoma, they discovered surprising results:
- In certain forms of lung cancer, mRNA-vaccinated patients lived almost twice as long as unvaccinated patients—37 months compared to 21 months.
- Patients with metastatic melanoma who had not been vaccinated survived an average of 27 months. In the vaccinated group, survival was so high that no mean could be calculated until the end of the study.
- Remarkable: Those whose tumors seemed less responsive to immunotherapy benefited the most from the vaccine.
“It’s really impressive. I wouldn’t have expected the effect to be so strong, and the data is very compelling”says Benoit Van den Eynde, a tumor immunologist at the University of Oxford.
Window of opportunity: when the mRNA vaccine works best
It appears that the timing of the mRNA vaccine is as important as the vaccine itself. Patients who received the vaccine within the first 100 days of starting cancer treatment were much more likely to benefit from its positive effects compared to those vaccinated later.
Furthermore, according to Adam Grippin, additional data – not yet published – suggests that giving the vaccine up to 30 days before or after starting treatment could give an even stronger immune boost, increasing the effectiveness of tumor therapy.
How the anti-COVID mRNA vaccine boosts the immune system against cancer
The researchers believe that the biological explanation behind these surprising results lies in the way mRNA vaccines activate the immune system. Unlike other types of vaccines, those based on messenger RNA trigger a strong and generalized immune response, which is not limited to fighting the SARS-CoV-2 virus but “wake up” the body to react more efficiently.
This effect makes the immune system more ready for treatments that target cancer cells, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors, which work best when defense mechanisms are already active.
In short, the mRNA vaccine acts as a trigger: it reactivates the body’s natural defenses so that tumor cells can be identified and eliminated more effectively.
Grippin and his team believe this could be why vaccinated patients survive longer and respond better to treatment. However, the researchers emphasize that further clinical studies are needed to confirm these results and to establish the optimal timing of vaccination. If confirmed, the discovery could fundamentally change the way immunotherapy and vaccines are combined.
mRNA vaccines: the next step in the fight against cancer
The discovery opens up an entirely new direction in cancer research and the use of mRNA technology. If future clinical trials confirm the observed results, mRNA vaccines – originally designed to stop the COVID-19 pandemic – could become an unexpected ally in the fight against cancer.
“It’s fascinating to see that a vaccine created for a viral disease could have such a powerful effect in oncology. It shows us how much we still have to learn about how we can use the immune system to fight cancer“, Grippin says.
One possibility is that, in the future, cancer patients will receive mRNA vaccines as part of standard therapy to amplify the response to immunotherapy treatments. Such combinations could significantly increase the chances of survival, especially for those with tumors resistant to current therapies.
However, the researchers caution that it is too early for firm conclusions. The observed effects must be confirmed by randomized clinical trials, carried out long-term and in diverse groups of patients. Only in this way will it be possible to establish with certainty whether mRNA vaccines can be integrated into anticancer treatments.
The results so far offer real reason for optimism: The mRNA technology that changed the course of the pandemic may one day also change the fate of the fight against cancer.
