8 of 16 patients with pancreatic cancer showed a positive response to the mRNA vaccine. Pancreatic cancer is fatal in the vast majority of cases
"Pancreatic cancer surgeon Vinod Balachandran, MD, has been leading the first clinical trial (research study) to test mRNA vaccines as a potential therapy for pancreatic cancer. Dr. Balachandran is a physician-scientist in the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program and is affiliated with the David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research.
The vaccines are custom-made for every person. They use proteins in the pancreatic tumors, called neoantigens, to alert the immune system that cancer cells are foreign. The hope is that the vaccine will reduce the risk of the cancer returning after the main tumor is removed by surgery. The mRNA vaccines train the body to protect itself against its own abnormal cancer cells."
