Hope emerges to defeat cancer with a universal vaccine

A scientific article published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering shows that a new direction is being developed in the fight against one of the world’s most serious diseases — cancer.

This study was carried out by leading specialists from the University of Florida. Unlike traditional cancer vaccines, a universal mRNA vaccine was tested in it — non-specific, that is, potentially applicable to any type of tumor, reported news.zerkalo.io.

Usually, cancer vaccines target specific proteins found in tumor cells. But this new mRNA vaccine directly activates the immune system — as if the body is launching a fight against a dangerous virus. Such a powerful signal stimulates an active anti-tumor response in the body.

In the study, the vaccine was used in combination with widely used immunotherapy drugs, including PD-1 inhibitors. The results were so impressive that even cancer types that previously did not respond to treatment — particularly melanoma and brain tumors — shrank or disappeared completely. In some cases, the vaccine worked even without additional drugs.

Scientists explain this by saying that the mRNA vaccine increases the expression of a protein called PD-L1 within the tumor, making it more recognizable and vulnerable to the immune system.

This news directly continues the scientific path of the same team, which in 2023 developed a personalized mRNA vaccine against glioblastoma and conducted the first successful clinical trial. At that time, a vaccine created from each patient's own tumor cells was used.

The most important aspect is that the new mRNA vaccine is considered universal. It is not tailored to a specific type of cancer, but is intended to generally activate the immune system. This creates the potential for broad application against various cancers, as well as making it a cheap and widespread treatment method.

Scientists consider this result to be a major scientific breakthrough. If similar positive results are confirmed in further clinical trials, this vaccine could become a key weapon against cancer types that do not respond to traditional treatment.

The research team is currently working to improve the formula and preparing to begin human clinical trials. The period that could open a new chapter in global medicine is no longer just a theory, but is turning into a practical reality. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!