A new study from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has found that a special nanoparticle-based vaccine can stop some of the deadliest cancers in mice.
These include melanoma, pancreatic cancer, and triple-negative breast cancer.
In fact, depending on the cancer type, up to 88% of the vaccinated mice stayed completely tumor-free. The vaccine even stopped cancer from spreading to other parts of the body.
The research, led by Professor Prabhani Atukorale and her team, was published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.
This new study builds on earlier work that showed their vaccine could shrink or even clear cancer tumors in mice. Now, the team has shown it can also work to prevent cancer from forming in the first place.
In their first test, the researchers gave mice a vaccine containing cancer-specific proteins (called antigens) linked to melanoma. These antigens act like warning signs that help the immune system recognize and destroy cancer cells.
The vaccine used tiny fat-based particles called nanoparticles to deliver both the antigens and special substances called adjuvants, which help activate the immune system.
The results were remarkable. After being exposed to melanoma cells, 80% of the vaccinated mice stayed tumor-free for the entire study period—about 250 days. Meanwhile, all the unvaccinated mice and those given traditional vaccines developed tumors and died within 35 days.
Even when the cancer was spread through the body (to mimic how it spreads in humans), none of the nanoparticle-vaccinated mice developed tumors in their lungs, while all other mice did.
This powerful immune protection is thanks to a process called “memory immunity,” where the body’s immune system remembers how to fight cancer long after the vaccine is given. That’s why vaccinated mice were still protected months later.
In a second round of tests, the researchers tried a more flexible approach. Instead of using known antigens, they used dead cancer cells directly from tumors (called tumor lysate) to create the vaccine. This approach can work even without knowing the exact type of cancer protein.
The vaccine protected 88% of mice from pancreatic cancer, 75% from breast cancer, and 69% from melanoma. Again, none of the vaccinated mice developed cancer in their lungs after the cancer was spread through their bloodstream.
The key to this success is the design of the vaccine’s nanoparticles. Every vaccine has two parts: the antigen (the target) and the adjuvant (the immune activator). Cancer vaccines need powerful adjuvants, but many of the best ones don’t mix well together.
To fix this, Atukorale’s lab designed a unique “super adjuvant” that can hold and deliver two different adjuvants together. This creates a strong and balanced immune response that activates cancer-killing T cells.
The team believes this technology could be used to build many kinds of cancer vaccines, both to treat existing tumors and prevent cancer in high-risk individuals. They have even launched a startup company called NanoVax Therapeutics to bring the technology closer to real-world use.
“This is a platform that could be used across many cancer types,” says lead researcher Griffin Kane. “Our goal is to improve patients’ lives, and this vaccine gives us a powerful new tool to do that.”
The researchers are now working to turn this vaccine into a therapy that can be tested in humans. The early results in mice give real hope that cancer vaccines could one day offer protection not just after diagnosis—but before cancer ever starts.
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The study is published in Cell Reports Medicine.
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