Cancer vaccines could be game changing, but they’re not a one-shot solution to beating cancer
Cancer Research UKApr 26
Human Trials Begin for Personalized mRNA Melanoma Jabs
The Facts
The University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) has begun human trials for an mRNA vaccine for the skin cancer melanoma, which impacts around 132K around the world annually.
The vaccine, which uses the same technology as some of the COVID vaccines, is made by Moderna, as well as Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD). It's personalized, meaning it's built to target only the specific genetic makeup of an individual's tumor.
The Spin
Narrative A
This groundbreaking news out of the UK shows that mRNA technology can be used to prevent several types of deadly cancers. Scientists have gotten this far with very little funding, so imagine the benefits if they received a major boost in their funding to help move these treatments into the global medical market.
Narrative B
Questions surrounding the need for immense amounts of funding should prompt further questions about how people will afford these mRNA vaccines once they're on the market. According to sources close to the research, these trials have cost £400K ($500K) per patient. Cancer research is incredibly important, but so is making medicine affordable.
Nerd narrative
There's an 80% chance that an inorganic nanoparticle-enabled cancer therapy will be approved by the US FDA before Jan. 1, 2041, according to the Metaculus prediction community.