COVID-19 Vaccines Can Do Wonders for Cancer Patients, Doctors Reveal an Incredible Truth
If the human body were a kingdom, its immune system would be the coterie of soldiers, guards, and warriors. Whenever foreign substances, called antigens, enter the kingdom, these troopers wake up to the defense. A healthy immune system, or a strongly fortified kingdom, has these messengers called RNA, a.k.a. mRNA, that are naturally embedded within every cell. Each of these messengers has a box of genetic instructions coded inside it. Whenever an invader attempts to intrude into the kingdom, they open their boxes, which prompts the cells outside to make proteins. But sometimes, certain invaders succeed in hiding under camouflage.
When treating a cancer patient, doctors use Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which act like little “off” switches or pseudo soldiers hiding in the battlements, that turn away the pesky cancerous cells, preventing them from attacking the body’s cells. This is “immunotherapy initiation.” However, in some patients, even this strategy fails to work due to their unique immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments (TMEs). To prevent scenarios like these, scientists have recently discovered an unusual treatment that can personalize the cure for cancer patients. If a cancer patient is given a COVID vaccine in combination with the regular treatment, within 100 days of immunotherapy initiation, it can work wonders, according to a study published in Nature.
Dubbed “COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccine,” this vaccine was designed to extend the survival or prevent death in patients without pre-existing immunity. Research revealed that patients experienced “substantial improvements” when given this vaccine, as it triggered the release of cancer-suppressing T-cells in lymphoid organs, along with a robust secretion of cytokines. “Patients who received either the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy were more than twice as likely to be alive after three years compared with those who didn’t receive either vaccine,” scientists Adam Grippin and Christiano Marconi shared in The Conversation.
To test whether this vaccine worked, they tested it on a cohort of cancer patients being treated at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) between January 2015 and September 2022. Around 180 patients with different types of cancer were treated with different concentrations and doses of this vaccine. “Based on this finding, we hypothesized that mRNA vaccines designed to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 might also have antitumor effects,” they wrote, concluding.
The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, they said, acts like an alarm or a siren that triggers the body’s immune system to recognize and kill the tumor cells and overcome the cancer’s ability to murder immune cells, the lead researcher, Dr. Adam Grippin, described to PBS. “We’re sensitizing immune-resistant tumors to immune therapy,” he said. In the study, the researchers wrote, “When combined, vaccines and immune checkpoint inhibitors coordinate to unleash the full power of the immune system to kill cancer cells."
For full confirmation, the vaccine was also tested on animal models, including some cancer-bearing mice. The models validated that this combo worked. However, another researcher, not involved in the study, cautioned that the study “demonstrates association, not proof or effectiveness,” per SBS News.
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