Researchers believe that the technology behind the Oxford coronavirus vaccine can be harnessed to combat cancer. An early study in mice showed that the vaccine can help stimulate the immune system to fight tumors, and a clinical trial involving 80 lung cancer patients with immunotherapy is set to begin this year.
The British vaccine protects against the coronavirus using a chimpanzee virus that delivers a genetic code containing instructions for a protein carried by the virus. The aim is to make the body's cells produce this protein, training the immune system to recognize and combat the virus.
Scientists realized that the same technology could be used to make the body produce proteins that are often found in tumors, which leads to converting these proteins into white blood cells capable of killing cancer cells. Professor Adrian Hill from the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford stated, "This new vaccine platform has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment. A study in mice conducted by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research showed an 82% greater reduction in tumor size after 36 days."
The new vaccine targets proteins produced by a wide range of cancer cells, potentially benefiting individuals with various types of cancer, including breast, bowel, bladder, lung, and skin cancer. Compared to immunotherapy alone, the combination of the vaccine and immunotherapy achieved an 82% greater reduction in tumor size after 36 days. Mice had a 36% chance of survival, up from 17%, according to the Daily Mail.
