mRNA Vaccine Shrinks Deadly Childhood Cancer Tumors by 70%: [View all]

[applegrove]

https://newsie.social/@servelan/116830620853096186

The success of mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic sparked interest in whether the same technology could be harnessed to fight cancer. Researchers at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences have taken an early step toward that goal, reporting the first preclinical evidence that an mRNA vaccine can target neuroblastoma, the deadliest childhood cancer.

Led by Dr. Olga Piskareva, Senior Lecturer in the RCSI Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine, the team tested an mRNA vaccine delivered using peptide carriers. In preclinical models, the vaccine trained the immune system to recognize and attack neuroblastoma, delaying tumor development by 10 to 11 days and shrinking tumors by 70%.

Neuroblastoma is an aggressive cancer that develops from immature nerve cells and primarily affects infants and young children. Although treatments have improved over the years, high-risk and recurrent cases remain especially difficult to treat, and the disease is responsible for about 15% of all childhood cancer deaths. In Ireland, five to ten children are diagnosed each year, with roughly 80% of patients failing to respond meaningfully to current therapies.

Dr. Piskareva commented on the findings: “The mRNA vaccine technology is like LEGO bricks. By combining different bricks, we can tailor the vaccine to the individual needs with high precision. This pilot study indicates promising potential in the development of anticancer vaccines for neuroblastoma, offering new hope for children and families suffering from the disease. We are at the beginning of the mRNA vaccine development road, but the first milestone has been successfully completed”.