Amiji and his colleagues have been working on novel mRNA delivery systems. As part of that work, he\u2019s been focused not only on how to make vaccines safer and more effective, but also easier to store without deep freezing them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unlike traditional vaccines that use weakened or inactivated viruses, mRNA vaccines work by giving the body genetic instructions to make a small component of a specific protein, then training the immune system to recognize and attack the real pathogen \u2014 or, in the case of cancer vaccines, diseased cells \u2014 when they show up.<\/p>\n
The American Cancer Society states that mRNA vaccines \u201cmight prove to be useful<\/a>\u201d in treating cancers by teaching the immune system to recognize cancer-cell proteins.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some cancer-related vaccines have already proven effective, such as preventive vaccines against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B. There are also therapeutic vaccines that aim to treat existing cancers by training the immune system to recognize and attack tumor-specific proteins.\u00a0<\/p>\n Preventive vaccines are already in widespread use, but most therapeutic cancer vaccines \u2014 including mRNA-based ones \u2014 are still in clinical trials.\u00a0<\/p>\n But one retrospective study published last week in Nature<\/a> proves just how versatile mRNA vaccines can be, finding that cancer patients who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine lived noticeably longer than their unvaccinated counterparts while undergoing immunotherapy.<\/p>\n Researchers analyzed data from more than 1,000 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma. Researchers divided them into two groups: those who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and those who did not. What they found was that patients who received the shot within 100 days of starting immunotherapy had a median survival of 37.3 months, nearly double the 20.6 months seen in patients who were not vaccinated.\u00a0<\/p>\n The researchers also concluded in a separate analysis that the mRNA vaccination administered in tandem with immunotherapy slowed tumor growth in mice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is specific to the mRNA vaccines, so either the Moderna or Pfizer mRNA vaccines are the ones creating this cross-benefit in cancer patients,\u201d Amiji says.<\/p>\n Brandon Dionne<\/a>, associate clinical professor of pharmacy and health systems sciences, says the results \u201caren\u2019t entirely surprising,\u201d based on other in-vitro data and animal studies suggesting that the mRNA vaccines \u201cprime the immune system\u201d and generate a \u201cnon-specific response\u201d that may help the body combat other diseases.\u00a0<\/p>\n The COVID shots work with respect to these cancers because they work in concert with immune checkpoint inhibitors<\/a>, which are drugs that prevent tumors from turning on checkpoints that dampen immune response to the cancer cells.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe combination is simultaneously preventing the cells from blocking an immune response, and then also prompting a stronger immune response that then starts to attack the cancer cells,\u201d Dionne says<\/p>\n Dionne notes that the first clinical trial involving an mRNA vaccine was to treat prostate cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n The experts note that the field of medicine is filled with examples of therapies with cross-benefits, with one of the most prominent examples being GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic and Wegovy. Originally designed to regulate blood sugar in diabetes patients, they\u2019re now widely used as weight loss drugs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Similarly, drugs now used to treat erectile dysfunction began as medications to treat pulmonary hypertension, Dionne says. Other drugs, such as antibiotic azithromycin<\/a>, have demonstrated non-specific therapeutic effects beyond their original uses.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to properly sensitize your immune system to attack tumors, you need to prime it,\u201d Amiji says. \u201cAnd right now, with certain cancers \u2014 especially lung cancer and melanoma \u2014 these tumors are what we call \u2018cold\u2019 tumors, meaning they don\u2019t allow our immune cells to infiltrate and do their job.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers are finding that mRNA vaccines can help convert these cold tumors into \u201chot\u201d ones, prompting the immune system to respond more effectively. The effect appears strongest in patients who are pre-vaccinated, or who receive an mRNA shot around the time they begin treatment, Amiji says.<\/p>\n So-called \u201chot\u201d tumors are packed with immune cells actively fighting cancer, making them more responsive to treatments like immunotherapy. \u201cCold\u201d tumors, on the other hand, have very few immune cells inside or around them, meaning the body\u2019s defenses have a hard time recognizing the cancerous tissue. Because the immune system isn\u2019t activated in these areas, the tumors are harder to target with treatments like immunotherapy.<\/p>\n Researchers are now exploring whether vaccines might help \u201cwake up\u201d cold tumors and improve immune responses, a question that Amiji says warrants further study.<\/p>\n \u201cImagine if we analyze the data retrospectively to compare vaccinated and unvaccinated patients \u2014 could we determine whether the COVID vaccine was effective in preventing cancer in the first place?\u201d Amiji says. \u201cWe\u2019d obviously need to do that study with a larger cohort, but that would be a remarkable finding.\u201d<\/p>\n Tanner Stening is an assistant news editor at Northeastern Global News. Email him at t.stening@northeastern.edu. Follow him on X\/Twitter @tstening90<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/mansoor-amiji-and-brandon-dionne.jpg\")
Northeastern University vaccine experts say the pandemic-era tech holds real promise as a tool to combat one of the world\u2019s deadliest diseases. Photos by Matthew Modoono\/Northeastern University<\/p>\n