Articles
From cell of origin to biomarker-based therapy: Trends in personalized treatment using lung cancer as a case study
This article explores how biomarker-driven precision medicine has transformed lung cancer treatment, illustrating both its clinical impact and the challenges that must be addressed for broader implementation.
Therapeutic Antibodies for Cancer Treatment: Past, Present and Future
Therapeutic Antibodies for Cancer Treatment: Past, Present and Future Until about 35 years ago, cancer treatment was based on three pillars - surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy - with a few exceptions. Depending on the type and stage of the tumor, these three treatment methods were used in various combinations and sequences, and over the decades, chemotherapy regimens have been continuously improved. However, almost all chemotherapeutic agents interfere with cell division in an untargeted ...
Role of Artificial Intelligence in Breast Cancer Screening
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer caused an estimated 670,000 deaths globally in 2022. Furthermore, about one in eight women is expected to develop breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, making it the most common type of cancer in women.
The rise of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) as a metric for success in clinical trials
In a world with over eight billion people and thousands of cultures, our daily lives differ greatly - and yet there are fundamental similarities between all people, such as how we deal with challenges and strokes of fate.
Vaccine technologies in the fight against cancer
Recently mRNA vaccines have received particular attention based on their effectiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, mRNA vaccines have achieved some promising clinical responses in treating a variety of solid tumours. However, other vaccine technologies have been under investigation for some time in immuno-oncology, too, including cell-based vaccines, dendritic cell-based vaccines, peptide vaccines, viral particle derived vaccines and DNA vaccines.
Antigen targets for mRNA vaccines against cancer
Due to their crucial role in combating the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, mRNA vaccines are currently receiving a lot of attention and, so far, have been a great success for the companies developing them. Cancer research is another major application for mRNA vaccine technology. Immuno-oncology develops ways of directing the immune system to fight against cancer cells, thus expanding the possibilities of modern oncology.
mRNA vaccines – a new era in cancer treatment
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential – and real-world-impact – of mRNA-based vaccines attracted enormous public attention. November 9th 2020 marked a historic event, when BioNTech and Pfizer announced the success of Tozinameran (BNT162b2), the first ever mRNA vaccine, in a pivotal phase-III trial. Soon, it would become commonly known as the “Pfizer vaccine” or “BioNTech vaccine”.
This article provides a brief overview of the history of mRNA-based vaccines and outlines why they are being developed as new tools in the fight against cancer. It will be the first in a series of informative articles about mRNA technology, the rationale behind mRNA anti-cancer vaccines, and important ongoing clinical trials in the field.