ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

Universal cancer vaccine could be on the horizon

Researchers want to approach cancer like an infectious disease.

Jordan StricklerbyJordan Strickler
October 3, 2019
in Health, Science
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Could RNA errors prove to be a prevention for cancer? Scientist Stephen Albert Johnston and his team at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute (ASU) think maybe it could. After a decade’s research, he and his team believe they might have found the answer to a universal vaccine to prevent cancer.

Johnson says that the mindset is simple: treat cancer just like an infectious disease. So, when his team looked deep within tumors, they found 200,000 cancer neoantigens — the components of cancer vaccines — that had been missed by other scientists. They also found that enough of these neoantigens occurred repeatedly in different tumors that it might be possible to make one vaccine for all tumors.

The source of these neoantigens? RNA errors of tumors, which involve changing the reading of the coding for proteins. Johnston said in cancer cells, levels of information transfer from DNA to RNA to protein become more error-prone.

“We proposed that these mistakes made in cancer cells may also be the source to make a cancer vaccine,” he said.

The erroneously produced proteins are called frameshift peptides. To try to ID these frameshift and slicing mutations, the ASU team designed an array of possible frameshift peptides and were able to determine those that are unique to an individual or shared by specific tumor types. From there, they could then pick vaccine candidates. In studies on mice, the vaccines showed promise in fending off tumors.

The ASU study examined mutations in more than 50 cancer cell lines, and 85 tissue samples from Mayo Clinic Arizona cancer patients, as well as the blood from patients from five different late-stage cancer types: lung, breast, brain, gastric and pancreatic cancers.

“Personal cancer vaccines are complicated and expensive,” said Johnston. “Also, only about 40 percent of tumors have enough mutations in the DNA to make a vaccine from. We discovered that even ‘cold tumors’ at the DNA level make lots of mistakes at the RNA level. And the mistakes we focus on are frameshift peptides which are much more immunogenic than the point mutations used in personal cancer vaccines. Most importantly, we can make off-the shelf vaccines for therapeutic or even preventative vaccines which will be much less expensive.”

All of the frameshift alterations, identification and screening experiments allowed them to choose the top vaccine candidates. These were tested in several mouse studies in a variety of cancer prevention and therapy challenges.

The researchers found that these vaccines could all significantly delay or even prevent tumor growth. However, the most important discovery from the mouse vaccine challenges were that pooling multiple frameshift peptides produced a significant additive increase in delaying tumor growth, and made for a more effective vaccine.

RelatedPosts

A vaccine cuts the risk of cervical cancer by 90%
International health coalition pledges up to $25 million for Nipah vaccine
A DNA-ring pill might diagnose any cancer fast and accurately
Almost half of all US cancers can be prevented through lifestyle, study shows

Johnston said they have the technology to make the human vaccine right now, but even optimistically it would be five to 10 years before human use.

“This is probably the only approach to a broadly preventative cancer vaccine, so we feel we have to try it,” said Johnston. “The implications of success would be quite large.”

The findings appeared in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

Tags: cancervaccine

ShareTweetShare
Jordan Strickler

Jordan Strickler

A space nerd and self-described grammar freak (all his Twitter posts are complete sentences), he loves learning about the unknown and figures that if he isn’t smart enough to send satellites to space, he can at least write about it. Twitter: @JordanS1981

Related Posts

Serotine bat. Image credits: Alona Shulenko.
Animals

Why Bats Don’t Get Cancer—And What That Could Mean for Us

byTudor Tarita
2 weeks ago
An illustration showing reprogrammed immune cells attacking cancer cells.
Diseases

CAR T Breakthrough Therapy Doubles Survival Time for Deadly Stomach Cancer

byRupendra Brahambhatt
2 weeks ago
Animals

A Treatment That Helped Dogs Survive Cancer Is Now Being Used on Children

byTudor Tarita
1 month ago
Health

RFK Jr, Nation’s Top Health Official, Refuses to Recommend the Measles Vaccine, Says ‘I Don’t Think People Should Be Taking Medical Advice from Me’

byTudor Tarita
1 month ago

Recent news

China Resurrected an Abandoned Soviet ‘Sea Monster’ That’s Part Airplane, Part Hovercraft

June 30, 2025
great white shark

This Shark Expert Has Spent Decades Studying Attacks and Says We’ve Been Afraid for the Wrong Reasons

June 30, 2025

A Rocket Carried Cannabis Seeds and 166 Human Remains into Space But Their Capsule Never Made It Back

June 30, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.