BionTech, a leading producer of COVID mRNA vaccines, have turned their sights to pancreatic cancer. Using individual resected pancreatic tumors obtained at MSKCC, it created synthetic mRNA sequences to induce expression of up to 20 of an individual’s own tumor neoantigens. The phase 1 trial where 16 patients received these vaccines at 9 weeks post-op along with atezolizumab beginning 6 weeks post-op followed by standard adjuvant mFOLFIRINOX at 21 weeks post-op is now making headlines. That’s because half of patients (n=8) achieved a significant expansion of tumor-specific T cell populations with none of them seeing a recurrence within 18 months. That’s as opposed to a median time of recurrence of only 13 months among the other 8 non-responders. This is an exciting leap forward in the systemic management of a decidedly systemic disease despite the $100K price tag attached to each vaccine dose. | Rojas, Nature 2023
