A BREAKTHROUGH cancer vaccine could prevent tumors from growing back after surgery, according to a study.
Scientists used technology from Pfizer’s Covid jab to target pancreatic cancer and found that it stimulates tumor-destroying immune cells.
In a world first trial by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, half of the patients were still cancer-free 18 months later.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease, with three in four patients dying within a year.
dr. Chris MacDonald, head of research at Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “It’s really exciting to see this progress in a cancer that has been so undertreated for so long.
“This is a very early, small-scale trial, but the results are certainly promising.
“We urgently need more treatment options for pancreatic cancer and a vaccine like this would be an essential new weapon against the deadliest common cancer.”
Professor Özlem Türeci, Chief Medical Officer at vaccine maker BioNTech, added: “We are trying to break new ground in the treatment of these difficult-to-treat tumors and the results of this study are encouraging.”
The nine-dose vaccine uses technology called mRNA, which injects genetic code to make immune cells that target cancer cells.
Scientists designed the mRNA in a lab to make the body attack mutant cells that normally slip under the radar and proliferate.
In the trial, the vaccine triggered an immune response in eight of 16 pancreatic cancer patients, scientists at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference revealed.
Their bodies produced deadly white blood cells that kept cancer relapses at bay for more than 18 months.
Cancer grew back in six of the eight patients whose vaccine didn’t work, with an average relapse time of 13.4 months.
Scientists don’t know why the vaccine only worked for half of people, but hope they can make it work for all surgery patients — up to one in five cases.
Study author Dr. Vinod Balachandran said: “These mRNA vaccines seem to boost immune responses, so we’re really excited about that.
“The early results suggest that if you have an immune response, you may have a better outcome.
“The patients are now cancer-free and are actively monitored.”
About 10,500 Britons get pancreatic cancer every year and treatment almost always fails.
Actors Patrick Swayze and Alan Rickman both died within 18 months of being diagnosed with the condition.
BioNTech’s vaccine was given to patients with a cancer that accounts for 95 percent of all pancreatic tumors.
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Each vaccine is given through an IV instead of a shot and is tailored based on the DNA in the patient’s tumor.
dr. Balachandran added: “We hope these results allow us to test this mRNA technology more widely in other cancers now.”