Most of us first heard about mRNA when researchers announced the discovery of a COVID-19 vaccine late last year, but mRNA technology was actually being looked into long before that. In fact, Moderna Therapeutics, one of the companies whose vaccine is currently being used to slow the spread of COVID-19, was conducting clinical trials for a personalized cancer vaccine using mRNA as far back as 2018. Now with evidence that mRNA works effectively in the vaccine, scientists are hopeful its capabilities will be just as successful in fighting cancer.
How does mRNA work?
Messenger RNA – known as mRNA – serves as a genetic code that makes proteins needed for cellular functions like growth, energy production and defense against illness. To create vaccines, researchers use strands of mRNA to prompt cells to create protein fragments based on the “non-self” DNA characteristics of the vaccine’s target. When the fragments are recognized, the immune system triggers a response because it sees them as foreign objects.
Van Morriss, MD, an assistant professor of gastrointestinal medical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, explained, “The immune system kills those cells and says, ‘I’m going to see if I can find any other cells in the body with these foreign proteins and kill those, too.’”
When used in COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA causes cells to produce the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. When the immune system recognizes it’s foreign, it creates antibodies that prevent coronavirus from entering the body.
Can mRNA cure cancer?
In a clinical trial led by Morris and Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, the hope is mRNA will kick-start the immune system in colorectal cancer patients so it clears out any remaining tumor cells left after surgery—which can prevent the cancer from growing back. Doctors are sending tissue from the removed tumor to be tested for genetic mutations that fuel cancer’s growth, and if mutations are detected, a personalized mRNA vaccine is created based on those individual mutations. Just like with COVID-19 vaccines, the mRNA tells the patient’s cells to produce protein fragments based off of these mutations, causing the immune system to detect these fragments and begin searching for circulating tumor cells.
Similar trials are taking place all over the country by researchers who are using mRNA to prevent the growth of melanoma, non-small cell lung cancers, pancreatic cancer and other forms of the disease. Promising results of these trials indicate hope that once the technology is perfected, there will be no limit to the types of cancer that can be cured.
In an interview with National Geographic, Morriss expressed his excitement about the possibilities of mRNA treatment.
“One of the beauties of this technology is it can be used in people agnostic to their cancer type—it doesn’t matter if it’s breast cancer or lung cancer, as long as you can identify its mutations.”
