The British “Times” reported that an innovative vaccine developed using messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology can prevent some pancreatic cancer patients from recurring following surgery, bringing new hope for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Experts say the new invention heralds a new era in cancer treatment.
This new mRNA vaccine technology was jointly developed by American scientists and the German company BioNTech, which created the Pfizer/BioNTech new crown vaccine. The mRNA technology used is the same as the technology used to develop the new crown vaccine. An mRNA vaccine provides a new treatment for pancreatic cancer patients undergoing tumor surgery to prevent cancer cells from recurring. Most cancerous tumors spread uncontrollably because the body’s immune system cannot recognize cancer cells as foreign “enemies,” but mRNA can recognize mutated proteins on the surface of cancer cells. The mRNA vaccine is tailor-made for each patient. After being injected into the patient’s body, the mRNA vaccine can train the patient’s immune system to kill pancreatic cancer cells in the blood with white blood cell T cells and prevent cancer recurrence.
Preliminary research trials indicate that the mRNA vaccine can prevent the recurrence of pancreatic cancer.
Sixteen patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent the trial were given eight doses of the mRNA vaccine following surgery to remove the tumor. Half of them were cancer-free following eighteen months. The remaining patients did not respond to the mRNA vaccine, and six died or relapsed. A similar BioNTech vaccine is also being tested in colorectal cancer patients. Pancreatic cancer is the cancer with the highest mortality rate, with 90% of patients dying within two years of diagnosis. Ten thousand people die from pancreatic cancer every year in the UK.
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