A new review from researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is shedding light on how cancer vaccines are entering a new and exciting phase.
After many years of trial and error, scientists are now seeing real progress thanks to better technology and a deeper understanding of how cancer works.
This review, published in Cell Reports Medicine and titled “Pipe Dream to Pipeline: Journey of Cancer Vaccines and the Road Ahead,” shows how far cancer vaccine research has come.
For a long time, cancer vaccines were a hopeful idea that didn’t quite live up to expectations. While they showed potential, most early vaccines didn’t help patients in a lasting way. But that is starting to change.
Thanks to major advances in DNA sequencing, scientists can now study the unique genetic changes in a person’s cancer. This has led to a new kind of vaccine called a neoantigen vaccine. These are made using genetic mutations found only in a patient’s tumor, making the treatment highly pers…
According to Dr. Nina Bhardwaj, the senior author of the review and a leader at Mount Sinai’s Cancer Immunology Program, today’s tools are making cancer vaccines more targeted and more powerful.
Scientists can now create vaccines that teach the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells, often with fewer side effects than traditional treatments like chemotherapy.
The review explains that newer cancer vaccines are often made using peptides, DNA, or mRNA—the same technology used in some COVID-19 vaccines. These vaccines have shown that they can trigger strong immune responses in patients with different types of cancer, including melanoma, lung cancer, brain tumors, bladder cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
One important insight from the review is that cancer vaccines work best when used alongside other treatments, like immune checkpoint inhibitors.
These combination treatments help the immune system stay active against cancer cells, which may lead to better patient outcomes. In other words, vaccines might not be strong enough on their own, but they can be very helpful when paired with other therapies.
The review also looks at why earlier vaccines didn’t succeed. Many failed because they couldn’t overcome the natural ways that tumors hide from the immune system.
In some cases, the chosen antigens—the parts of the cancer targeted by the vaccine—weren’t effective enough. And it’s not easy to make a personalized vaccine for every patient. The process takes time, costs money, and isn’t yet widely available.
However, there is hope. Scientists are working on ways to make “off-the-shelf” vaccines using shared antigens found in groups of patients, which could make treatment faster and more accessible. Better vaccine delivery methods are also being developed to improve how vaccines reach the immune system.
Overall, the review combines years of research to create a roadmap for the future. It suggests that cancer vaccines could become a regular part of cancer care, especially when used early in treatment or combined with other immune-based therapies. But there’s still work to be done.
Most studies so far have been small. Larger trials will be needed to prove that these vaccines can improve survival and quality of life.
In conclusion, the science of cancer vaccines has taken a big step forward. With more research, these personalized treatments may one day help many more people live longer, healthier lives after a cancer diagnosis.
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