Scientists compared the outcomes of cancer patients who had and had not received the mRNA vaccine during the pandemic period and came to an unexpected conclusion. According to the research, patients who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine 100 days before immunotherapy lived twice as long as those who did not receive such a vaccine. The vaccine type did not make a difference.
The study analyzed data from over a thousand patients diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and melanoma. They were treated with widely used "checkpoint inhibitors."
Experts say these results now need to be confirmed in larger clinical trials. A number of questions intrigue them: When is the most effective time to administer the vaccine? For which types of cancer will this effect be replicated? And if mRNA directly codes for an immune-stimulating protein, will the effect be enhanced?
Due to their wide availability, low cost, and presence in pharmacies, mRNA vaccines have the potential to become an important tool against cancer in the future.
