COVID-19 Vaccines Show Potential in Boosting Cancer Treatment Efficacy

Wed Oct 22 2025 22:30:26 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Emerging research highlights a promising synergy between COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and cancer immunotherapy, suggesting improved survival rates for patients with advanced lung and skin cancers.

Preliminary studies indicate that patients with advanced lung or skin cancer receiving immunotherapy treatment saw increased survival rates when also vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Researchers suggest that the mRNA in these vaccines may enhance immune responses to cancer therapies. This unexpected benefit is prompting further investigations into the efficacy of mRNA vaccines in cancer treatment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The widely administered COVID-19 vaccines have revealed an unexpected advantage for some cancer patients: they may help to enhance the immune system's ability to combat tumors.

Research indicates that advanced lung and skin cancer patients who received either Pfizer or Moderna shots alongside specific immunotherapy medications experienced significantly longer survival times. This finding comes from a study reported in the journal Nature.

Interestingly, the benefit seen in these patients was not related to the viruses themselves. Instead, the messenger RNA (mRNA) that powers these vaccines showed promise in stimulating the immune system to respond more effectively to cancer treatments. Dr. Adam Grippin from MD Anderson Cancer Center noted that the vaccine acts like a siren, activating immune cells all over the body, essentially making immune-resistant tumors more susceptible to therapy.

Despite skepticism from figures such as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has criticized mRNA vaccines and withdrawn funding for certain uses of the technology, the research team at MD Anderson is optimistic. Their findings encourage a more detailed investigation into the potential of coupling mRNA vaccines with cancer medications like checkpoint inhibitors.

A healthy immune system plays a crucial role in identifying and destroying cancer cells before they pose a significant risk; however, certain tumors develop mechanisms to evade detection. Checkpoint inhibitors are designed to help reveal these hidden tumors to the immune system. While effective for many, some patients’ immune cells fail to recognize the tumor even when treated with checkpoint inhibitors.

mRNA naturally occurs in all living cells and contains the genetic instructions crucial for protein production. The technology has gained recognition for its groundbreaking role in producing COVID-19 vaccines, but specialists have also pursued the development of personalized mRNA cancer vaccines. These treatments aim to train the body's immune system to recognize specific markers unique to an individual's tumor.

The emerging research pointed out that even general mRNA vaccines, like those for COVID-19, could foster immune activity against cancer cells. A study performed by Grippin's team involved analyzing the health records of nearly 1,000 advanced cancer patients to compare outcomes between those vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and those who did not receive vaccinations.

Notably, lung cancer patients who had received their vaccinations were nearly twice as likely to remain alive three years after commencing treatment compared to those who had not been vaccinated. Similar improvements were observed among melanoma patients, although exact survival metrics varied as some patients were still living at the time of the analysis. In contrast, vaccinations that did not utilize mRNA, such as standard flu shots, did not yield similar results.

Dr. Jeff Coller, an mRNA expert at Johns Hopkins University, commented that this research offers significant clues regarding the broader applications of mRNA medicines for human health and cancer treatment.