For many years, mRNA vacc ine research was considered very promising for many diseases. However, it was not until the COVID-19 pandemic that the new technology was first brought to the attention of the general public.

Another milestone was reached on Friday, 18 June, when the first patient received an mRNA vaccine against melanoma, a malignant skin cancer. This is the second phase of a clinical trial to determine the efficacy, reliability and safety of the BHTN111 vaccine.

The first phase of the trial has come to an end and was very promising, according to the researchers. According to the results obtained in animal models and human tissue cultures, the substance appears to induce a strong and safe antibody response.

Our vision is to harness the power of the immune system in the fight against cancer and infectious diseases. We have successfully demonstrated the potential of the mRNA vaccine against the Covid-19 pandemic. But we must not forget that cancer is also a global health threat, even worse than the current pandemic," said Dr Özlem Türeci - co-author of the study.

The new potential of mRNA vaccines

BHTN111 has already shown a favourable safety profile and encouraging preliminary results in an initial clinical trial. Starting to treat patients in our phase 2 study gives us the courage to further exploit the potential of mRNA vaccines for cancer patients, the researcher added.

This experimental mRNA anti-cancer treatment is not expected to work alone, but as part of a broader platform. It is expected to include several immunotherapeutic agents that contain cellular instructions to produce antigens common to different types of cancer, which are administered to patients to induce the immune system to produce antibodies against them.

In this way, the immune system is 'trained' to destroy tumours before they become problematic. BHTN111 is the most advanced treatment in the project to date and targets four antigens - at least one of which is found in more than 90 per cent of metastatic melanoma cases.