New mRNA vaccine shows promise as universal cancer treatment in mice

University of Florida researchers found that an mRNA vaccine not targeting any specific tumor protein could still trigger a strong immune response against cancer in mice. When paired with checkpoint inhibitor drugs, resistant tumors shrank, and in some cases the vaccine alone eliminated them. The findings suggest a potential path to an off-the-shelf universal cancer vaccine.

Bottom line — UF's mRNA vaccine, tested in mice, could lead to a universal cancer vaccine that works with or without immunotherapy.

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• The vaccine works by revving up the immune system rather than targeting a specific tumor protein, per senior author Elias Sayour, a UF Health pediatric oncologist.
• In mouse models of skin, bone, and brain cancers, the vaccine alone showed beneficial effects, according to the study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
• Sayour's lab previously demonstrated in a first-ever human trial that a personalized mRNA vaccine quickly reprogrammed the immune system to attack glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor.
• Co-author Duane Mitchell said the approach could be 'broadly used across cancer patients — even possibly leading us to an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine.'
• The study builds on earlier work by Sayour's lab, which used lipid nanoparticles and mRNA to develop anticancer vaccines.

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