The innovative messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines that thwarted the ravages of COVID-19 may also help fight tumors in cancer patients, according to a new analysis of medical records and studies in mice.<\/p>\n
People with cancer who coincidentally received the mRNA shots before starting drugs designed to unleash the immune system against tumors lived significantly longer than those who didn\u2019t get vaccinated, a research team announced yesterday at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Berlin<\/a>. Laboratory experiments by the group suggest the vaccines rev up the immune system, making even stubborn tumors more susceptible to treatment.<\/p>\n The findings underscore the still-untapped potential of mRNA technology at a time when President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has backed away from funding the area. \u201cI think this data is extraordinary,\u201d says Ryan Sullivan, an oncologist and immunologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who wasn\u2019t involved in the new research. Although the analysis of cancer patient data was retrospective, he notes that the observed association between COVID-19 vaccination and improved survival \u201cis very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The innovative messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines that thwarted the ravages of COVID-19 may also help fight tumors in cancer patients, according to a new analysis of medical records and studies in mice.<\/p>\n People with cancer who coincidentally received the mRNA shots before starting drugs designed to unleash the immune system against tumors lived significantly longer than those who didn\u2019t get vaccinated, a research team announced yesterday at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Berlin<\/a>. Laboratory experiments by the group suggest the vaccines rev up the immune system, making even stubborn tumors more susceptible to treatment.<\/p>\n