Yesterday, Science Daily reported on a breakthrough in research to create an mRNA cancer vaccine: “Researchers found that mRNA cancer vaccines can recruit an unexpected immune cell to launch powerful tumor-fighting responses, overturning a long-held assumption about how the vaccines work. The discovery could lead to more effective cancer vaccines and help scientists tailor treatments for better patient outcomes.”

Background: An mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccine gives your cells a set of instructions to make a harmless piece of a target pathogen—like a viral protein. Your immune system recognizes this protein as foreign, triggers a defensive response, and builds antibodies to fight off future infections. mRNA vaccines are changing modern medicine. mRNA technology was the basis of the Moderna COVID vaccine.

“The success of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic transformed vaccine science. Now, the same Nobel Prize winning technology is being adapted to fight cancer, with experimental mRNA vaccines already being tested against melanoma, small cell lung cancer, bladder cancer, and several other cancers. Researchers hope these vaccines could eventually provide powerful new ways to........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)