mRNA used in Pfizer’s Corona injection could treat cervical cancer
Around 900 women die of cervical cancer each year in the UK.
Among these, a study found that mRNA injections can treat cervical cancer caused by the HPV virus.
“Even a single low-dose vaccine elicited a strong immune response,” said Dr. Jamil Ramos da Silva of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Scientists now look forward to testing the treatment on humans.
Meanwhile, human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common virus that is spread through skin-to-skin contact and affects 8 in 10 Britons at some point in their lifetime. Although generally harmless, it can cause cancer of the cervix, mouth and throat, and genitals.
Experts believe that vaccination can eliminate the virus within decades, but there is currently no way to get rid of the infected virus.
Professor Luis Carlos de Souza Ferreira said: “This kind of vaccine will be another tool to combat the cancer problem caused by HPV. Current vaccines are very effective at controlling infection, but they can kill people who are already infected or have tumors. It doesn’t affect anyone who has it.”
On the other hand, a study published last year found that an mRNA vaccine could prevent fatal pancreatic cancer from growing back after surgery.
German company BioNTech, which developed the Corona 19 mRNA vaccine with Pfizer, said, “We aim to develop a vaccine that prevents cancer by 2030.”
[정혜원 디지털뉴스부 인턴기자 whj428@naver.com]
