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1. Flipboard Science Desk (sciencedesk@flipboard.social)'s status on Friday, 21-Feb-2025 04:05:18 JST Flipboard Science Desk

   Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease, with fewer than 13% of people living more than five years after diagnosis. Personalized mRNA vaccines could be a new option in improving outcomes. In a trial published in Nature, 16 patients with operable pancreatic cancer were given personalized mRNA vaccines after their tumors had been removed. These vaccines were designed to teach the patients' immune systems to attack their cancer cells. Half of the people in the study responded to the vaccine, producing T cells that targeted their tumors. While it was a small phase 1 trial and there are many unknown factors, experts consider the results to be encouraging. “If we can see this response stand up in bigger trials, that’s really significant,” Dr. Shubham Pant, a professor of gastrointestinal medical oncology, told NBC News.

   https://flip.it/ZFAxl2

   #Science #Medicine #Vaccines #MRNA #Cancer #PancreaticCancer

   • Carolyn (cstamp@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 21-Feb-2025 07:38:09 JST Carolyn

     in reply to

     @ScienceDesk While this is encouraging, and should be celebrated, often folk with this cancer find out after it's too late for surgery. Hopefully this work will apply to more cases and maybe one day work as a true vaccine in that it doesn't just prevent reoccurrence to those who already have the cancer, but those who don't yet.

   • Flipboard Science Desk (sciencedesk@flipboard.social)'s status on Friday, 21-Feb-2025 07:38:09 JST Flipboard Science Desk

     in reply to

     • Carolyn

     @CStamp Absolutely!  Per the article, 90% of cancers are diagnosed when they are already advanced. In addition, this study only included folks with operable tumors, which comprise only around 20% of pancreatic cancers. There's definitely a fairly narrow application for the treatment — but as you say, hopefully it will have broader use. The technology is currently being explored for melanoma and colorectal cancers as well.