Interesting discovery about COVID vaccine and immunotherapy !

Interesting! I think mRNA research was originally focussed on cancer and was well underway in 2020 (which is why they were able to repurpose it so quickly for COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic), but I had never heard about it having a general effect rather than a specifically-targeted one. There's a lot to learn out there.

When people send links, I've started mostly pasting it into Gemini (Google's AI. I have a "pro" version for work) and saying "Summarize this article:" This is what I got here:

A groundbreaking study from the University of Florida and MD Anderson Cancer Center suggests that receiving a **COVID-19 mRNA vaccine** near the start of cancer immunotherapy is associated with **significantly improved survival** in patients with advanced lung and skin cancers.

Here is a summary of the findings and implications:

* **Key Finding:** Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer or metastatic melanoma who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy lived "dramatically longer" than those who did not.

* **Survival Data:**
* For advanced lung cancer, median survival nearly doubled, increasing from **20.6 months to 37.3 months**.
* For metastatic melanoma, median survival increased from **26.7 months to 30-40 months**.

* **Mechanism:** Researchers hypothesize that the mRNA vaccine acts as a **"nonspecific 'flare'"** that reawakens and mobilizes the immune system to fight the cancer. The vaccine stimulates the immune response as if it were fighting a viral infection, which boosts the effectiveness of the immunotherapy.

* **Future Implications:** The discovery is considered pivotal and suggests a new era of cancer care, potentially leading to the development of a **universal, off-the-shelf, immune-boosting cancer vaccine** that could enhance treatments for various cancer types.

* **Note:** The results are based on a large observational study of over 1,000 patients and require confirmation through upcoming randomized clinical trials.

Didn’t I beg you to STOP reading??😁. Glad you didn’t listen!
Very interesting article for sure. What jumped out at me was the fact that the Covid vaccine boosted the immune response to cancer, yet the previous article you posted said that an actual Covid virus infection could reactivate dormant PCa cells.
Quite a contradiction!
Gotta be some unknown interaction between the immunotherapy and the spike protein in the vaccine that does NOT occur with the actual virus.
Well, whatever it turns out to be, I’m all for it! Thanks for the article,
Phil

I've had every Covid vaccine and all the boosters. It may fight a new prostate cancer but it hasn't done anything for my cancer except maybe boost it's growth.

@harvey44 For me the big benefit was that when C19 finally found me in 2023 (I'd made it through 3 outbreaks while I was in hospital without catching it), it started out with severe-enough symptoms to take me to the ER, but I couldn't take the normal treatments like Paxlovid or Redesivir because they conflict with the Erleada (Apalutamide) that's suppressing my stage 4 prostate cancer.

When I told the ER doctor that I'd been 3 or 4x vaxxed (I no longer remember the exact number), he said "Oh, in that case you'll be fine", and he was right: within a few hours my temperature came down and my resting heart rate dropped back below 100. I was home for a late lunch, and recovered fully in a few days.

There's literally nothing they could have given to help me if the COVID had continued as it started (or gotten worse) — just put me on oxygen and pray, I guess — so I'm grateful my body was well prepared to fight it.

There are maybe thirty variants of prostate cancer. 90% show up on PSMA PET/CT scan. But 10% do not. Familial cancer risks such as BRCA-2 I believe occurs in 2-4% (I maybe wrong on%) These factors have to be teased out to understand who responds to vaccines. Johns Hopkins has shown a dead adenovirus injected into the prostate (2x) coupled with Valacyclovir reduced expected metastases by 30%. It just came out that 2 enzymes [PDIA-1, PDIA-5) that protect the androgen receptor from treatments effects if disabled reduces progression. Human studies must follow. It also just came out two currently used prostate drugs in combination work to reduce progression, namely enzalutamide,( ZUNIGA) and leuprolide (Elegard) [sp?] I have said before keep the powder dry the cavalry is on the way.

@heavyphil
😆
Yes, one word my friend - SYNERGY , 😉

Vaccine wakes up immune response and maybe even mets and than immunotherapy agents have clear target perhaps ? Or vaccine makes such an upheaval that every possible defensive mechanism is awaken and becomes super active and doubly efficient ?!

Whatever it is - wonderful accidental discovery 👍😊 ! Immunotherapy is the future of cancer treatment IMHO. The only and natural way to clean cancer cells wherever they hide .

@harvey44

Hi Harvey, this article is about immunotherapy for cancer and COVID vaccine can not and does not fight cancer in any shape or form.

Vaccine in this case just activates immune response for the immunotherapy agents such as is Keytruda. For some reasons such immunotherapy medications work MUCH better once person is vaccinated with mRNA vaccine. Vaccine alone has no effect in treating cancer.

@harvey44
I’ve had at least nine Covid shots. My cancer has stayed undetectable for two years after 15 years of prostate cancer. Not sure it’s helping, but it’s sure not hurting.

Correction:
XTANDI, (enzalutamide) not ZUNIGA
LUPRON, (leuprolide) not ELIGARD

OTTO KORRECT