mRNA Vaccines and Therapeutic Radiation for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
Many tumors resist treatments that utilize a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. When patients receive an mRNA vaccine directed against infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, their immune system is also activated against cancer. Radiation has the same effect, and so we hypothesize that using both treatments will improve patient outcomes. Early research in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic melanoma demonstrates that patients who received radiation prior to mRNA vaccines had improved survival relative to their peers. We will now study, in patients and in mice, how the timing of radiation therapy affects the ability of mRNA vaccines to shrink tumors. We will also experiment with different vaccine formulations that may magnify this effect. By combining mRNA vaccines and radiation, we hope to create more effective, accessible and long-lasting cancer immunotherapies for patients.
