Reporter Huang Zhongqiu / Report from Taipei
▲Vaccination is also expected to treat cancer in the future, and Moderna’s melanoma cancer mRNA vaccine has the opportunity to come out this year (schematic diagram/reproduced from Pixabay)
In the future, vaccination can also treat cancer! An mRNA vaccine developed by Moderna for the treatment of melanoma has been found in Phase II clinical trials, if combined with immunotherapy drugs, it can effectively reduce the probability of recurrence or death by 44%. It was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration The FDA believes that “breakthrough therapy” will receive accelerated review, and it is expected that the first “cancer vaccine” in human history will be available within a few months. However, domestic experts said that because the therapy is almost customized, the price will be very expensive, and it may take about 5 to 10 years before it becomes popular.
Before the manufacture of the new crown vaccine, Moderna invested in the field of cancer treatment very early. Recently, an mRNA vaccine developed by Moderna for the treatment of melanoma and a new cancer therapy of Mok’s immunotherapy drug have been carried out. to phase II clinical trials.
The first ever cancer vaccine coming in a few months
In phase II clinical trials, it was found that if combined with immunotherapy drugs, it can effectively reduce the probability of recurrence or death by 44%. This combined therapy was recently recognized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a new “breakthrough therapy”. New Breakthrough Therapy means that the FDA believes that the vaccine “addresses an unmet medical need in the treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases.” Originally, this new therapy will enter Phase III clinical trials at the end of the year, but it is expected that due to the breakthrough of the treatment, it may have the opportunity to be authorized and approved within a few months.
Cai Kunzhi, a joint associate researcher at the Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, said that if approved by the United States, the Moderna vaccine will be the first mRNA cancer vaccine in history.
How it works Expert analysis will tell you
Cai Kunzhi said that according to Moderna’s announcement, the melanocytic cancer vaccine will first need to sequence the “tumor-specific antigen” on the melanocytic tumor in the patient, and the tumor-specific antigen in each patient will be different. After the sequence, find out the top few major antigens, and then synthesize the RNA corresponding to the relevant antigens, and then hit the patient to stimulate the patient’s own immune cells, and T cells to recognize these antigens.
Cai Kunzhi said that another drug paired with the vaccine is the existing immunotherapy drug, which can inhibit the “braking” mechanism of cancer cells on the immune system, so that immune cells have more opportunities to kill cancer cells.
Cai Kunzhi said that this two-in-one therapy is quite a breakthrough. mRNA can be synthesized quickly, just like the new crown vaccine. After knowing the sequence of the virus’s spike protein, it can be injected into the human body to allow immune cells to generate immunity. This part of the principle is the same.
Cai Kunzhi said that there are currently two immune checkpoints used in immunotherapy, PD1 and PDL1, which were first used to treat melanocytoma, but immunotherapy may not be effective for all patients. This is because, after inhibiting immune checkpoints and releasing immune cells, immune cells do not necessarily recognize tumor cells. If combined with mRNA vaccines, immune cells can recognize the antigens on tumor cells, and immune cells T cells can be more specific to destroy tumor cells.
Having a cancer vaccine does not mean it is suitable for all cancer types
However, such as pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer and other gastrointestinal cancers, or ovarian cancer, brain cancer, etc., there are not many T cells in these tumors, and the average antibody response rate of all cancers to PD1 and PDL1 is only 15%. For a few tumors such as melanoma, kidney cancer, and lung cancer, these tumors have a lot of T cells. Cai Kunzhi said that such a therapy may have a great breakthrough.
it will be very expensive
Cai Kunzhi said that since the vaccine law is almost customized, it will be very, very expensive in the initial stage. In the future, the “price problem” needs to be solved first. But this new technique of mRNA cancer vaccine is unlikely to be applicable to all cancers except melanoma for some specific cancers. New vaccines such as those for lung cancer may also be introduced in the future. The relevant domestic technologies are also very mature, and it is believed that domestic countries may also participate in the research and development of related vaccines in the future.
Zhang Yifang, director of the Clinical Trial Center of Mackay Memorial Hospital, said that the new mRNA cancer vaccine needs to be sequenced from individual patients, which is customized in principle, but if the most common common antigens of cancer patients can be sorted out in the future, there will be no need to customize Customization. The cost of treatment is expected to be reduced, but it will take some time.
