Personalized cancer vaccines show promise as breakthrough treatment in 2025 Article by The Economist

A major breakthrough in cancer treatment could begin in 2025 with the development of personalized cancer vaccines, according to The Economist.

The article notes that the concept of using the immune system to fight cancer dates back to the late 19th century when New York surgeon William Coley observed that a bacterial infection helped a cancer patient recover, per Caliber.Az.

He experimented with injecting bacterial mixtures into patients, a practice that laid the foundation for modern cancer vaccines. These vaccines aim to train the immune system to recognize and fight cancer cells by targeting neoantigens, abnormal proteins produced by tumors due to genetic mutations.

To create a personalized cancer vaccine, scientists sequence a tumor's genome to identify mutations, then develop a vaccine using RNA to instruct the body to produce neoantigens. The immune system would then recognize and target the tumor. While this approach was once considered unfeasible, advancements in mRNA technology, especially following the COVID-19 vaccine development, have made it a reality.

Promising results are emerging from clinical trials. For instance, Moderna and Merck’s personalized mRNA vaccine for melanoma reduced the risk of cancer recurrence by nearly 50% after three years. Trials are expanding to other cancers, including lung and kidney cancers, and tests on glioblastoma and pancreatic cancer show early promise. Combining these vaccines with other immunotherapies is also proving effective.

Despite these breakthroughs, cancer vaccines are complex and expensive to create. Research is ongoing into creating off-the-shelf vaccines, such as BioNtech’s mRNA vaccine for lung cancer, which targets common tumor markers. While significant challenges remain, experts like Sarah Danson from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research are optimistic that cancer vaccines could one day reduce the need for invasive treatments like chemotherapy.

While it remains uncertain how effective these vaccines will ultimately be, 2025 could mark a pivotal year in cancer treatment innovation.

By Tamilla Hasanova