SCIENCE: 'Universal' cancer vaccine heading to human trials could be useful for 'all forms of cancer

 This looks like an incredibly promising step forward in the battle against cancer- and all forms of cancer. If only it was farther along, perhaps it could have helped our Tyler who passed from cancer  on July 29th, 2025. It's also Research like THIS that is critical. Yet, the current Administration is Cutting all kinds of cancer research. In today's blog you'll learn about this hopeful vaccine.

(Image: Immune cells shown attacking cancer cells. A new mRNA-based cancer vaccine could someday be used "off-the-shelf" to treat cancer, scientists hope. (Image credit: STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)

Universal' cancer vaccine heading to human trials could be useful for 'all forms of cancer' 

 

By Nicoletta Lanese, LIVE SCIENCE   July 30, 2025

 A new mRNA-based vaccine triggers a response from the innate immune system to help arm the body against cancer, a mouse study finds. It's now in early human trials. 

A universal cancer vaccine in development could help rev up the immune system against tumors and supercharge the effects of existing cancer therapies, an animal study suggests.

Similar to vaccines for viral infections like the flu, many cancer vaccines are designed to help the immune system recognize specific proteins. However, while conventional vaccines aim to prevent disease, cancer vaccines are currently being developed to clear away cancers already growing in the body and to help prevent treated cancers from coming back.

Nonetheless, conventional vaccines and cancer vaccines often work similarly. The flu shot trains the immune system to look for unique proteins found on the surface of influenza viruses, while cancer vaccines typically teach immune cells to spot unique features of cancer cells.

But there's a challenge: These cancer proteins of interest can often be unique to individual patients, meaning each cancer vaccine may need to be specially formulated for each patient. Although it's possible to craft such personalized vaccines, they take time to make — and, in the interim, the patient's cancer mutates, potentially causing the vaccine to be less effective.

"It can be months from the time you get a patient's specimen to when they actually have a personalized therapy," said study senior author Dr. Elias Sayour, a pediatric oncologist at University of Florida Health. Sayour and colleagues wondered if they could design a cancer vaccine that would not require this personalization and instead ignite a general immune response to keep cancer at bay.

"The idea that something could be available immediately, albeit in a nonspecific way … could be revolutionary for how we bridge therapy and how we manage patients," Sayour told Live Science.