Scientists from different parts of the world have discovered that the Vaccine against covid-19 from SinoVac can make treatment more effective for nasopharyngeal cancerknown as “Anti PD-1 therapy“, despite experts believing that the effects would be completely opposite.
Why is cancer treatment improved by the COVID-19 vaccine?
According to a study published in the specialized journal “Annals of Oncology“, this kind of cancer affecting the throat is often treated with immunotherapy”AntiPD-1“, which consists of blocking the PD-1 receptors on the surface of immune cells, whose job is to “hunt” invading organisms.
The researchers note that blocking these receptors frees up immune cells to protect the body, even if the cancer cells appropriate it to disable the body’s defense systems against cancer. The Vaccine against covid-19 Helps by stimulating the immune response.
Dr Qi Mei, a cancer researcher at Shanxi University Hospital in China who authored the study, acknowledges that he still doesn’t know exactly why this happens, but the leading theory is that the active vaccination some immune cells, which then attack the tumor.
What is the vaccine to fight throat cancer?
According to bioinformatics scientist Jian Li of the University of Bonn in Germany, the Vaccine against covid-19 offered the uncertainty of how they might interact with the treatment against nasopharyngeal cancer. “It was feared that it was not compatible,” said the expert; however, the results showed favorable prospects.
The team analyzed the records of 1,537 treated patients nasopharyngeal cancer in 23 hospitals. Of that cohort, 373 people had been vaccinated with the vaccine. SinoVac COVID-19 used in China before starting treatment for cancer.
“Surprisingly, they responded significantly better to anti-PD-1 therapy than unvaccinated patients (…) Also, they did not experience serious side effects more often.”
Christian Kurts, an immunologist at Bohn University.
It should be noted that the study only applies to one type of vaccine and one type of cancerwhich is unusual in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, although particularly common in Southeast Asian countries and regions south of China.
Will the COVID-19 vaccine really work against this cancer?
The researchers note that although treatment with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) has been shown to be effective in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer, “possible interference between the anti-PD-1 treatment and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in NPC patients they remain elusive.
“The association of COVID-19 vaccination with increased efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy with chemotherapy in recurrent metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer is interesting, but needs to be validated in a larger cohort study.”
Abstract of the study published in “Annals of Oncology”
In countries like Taiwan, the nasopharyngeal cancer it is now a leading cause of death among young people, and the hope is that this link between improved treatment efficacy and coronavirus vaccination it can help develop better ways to deal with the problem cancer.
