Groundbreaking research published in the journal Nature has given rise to hope that mesothelioma patients could experience improved responses to immunotherapy treatment when combined with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. A collaborative group of scientists from some of the world’s best cancer centers has found that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines sensitize immunologically “cold” tumors to immunotherapy and trigger powerful innate immune responses.
Mesothelioma Victims May Benefit from Research Aimed at Lung Cancer Patients
Though mesothelioma patients were not included in the study’s cohort, the results reported by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center suggest that the outcomes may apply to patients diagnosed with a wide range of cancers. The scientists described the results seen in a group of non-small cell lung cancer patients who received COVID-19 mRNA vaccines within 100 days of starting checkpoint inhibitor treatment. The patients experienced dramatically improved survival.
Non-small cell lung cancer is similar to mesothelioma in its characteristic treatment resistance, which is why the study’s findings are generating such interest. The study group experienced a median overall survival that increased from 20.6 months to 37.3 months and a three-year survival that jumped from 30.8 percent to 55.7 percent.
Mesothelioma and Other Cancers’ Tumors Could Be “Warmed Up” by Vaccine-Induced Immune Activation
Mesothelioma frequently presents as an immunologically cold tumor, which means it has few infiltrating immune cells and a poor response to checkpoint inhibitors. In the study, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines triggered a surge in type I interferon that reset the tumor microenvironment and primed the immune system for attack.
Mesothelioma tumor cells and non-small cell lung cancer tumor cells usually fight the natural immune system by blocking the signals that would normally provide a defense. The study found that lung cancer patients receiving both checkpoint inhibitor treatments and the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within 100 days experienced a shift in this dynamic. The combination created a sustained T-cell response, allowing the immune system to recognize the multiple cancer targets that the checkpoint inhibitors were designed to attack.
More to Learn About the Potential of mRNA Vaccination in Mesothelioma Treatment
The personalized mRNA cancer vaccines that have been the focus of mesothelioma research require complex, time-intensive processes that delay treatment, but the Nature study demonstrates that standard COVID-19 mRNA vaccines that are already available in clinics may achieve similar immune-priming effects. This discovery could accelerate mesothelioma treatment.
Notably, the benefit found in the MD Anderson study held, regardless of whether patients received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or the Moderna vaccine, and the same effect was not identified in patients receiving vaccines within 100 days of chemotherapy, or those receiving pneumonia or flu vaccines with checkpoint inhibitors. The effect specifically held true for combining mRNA vaccines and immune checkpoint blockades.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net have the information you need and are here to help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.