Promises and pitfalls of mRNA-based vaccines as cancer treatment.
4 affiliations
- 1Worcester College, Walton Street, Oxford, OX1 2HB, UK.
- 2Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medicine and Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
- 3Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7DQ, UK.
- 4Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medicine and Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. [email protected].
Abstract
The success of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines has accelerated interest in applying mRNA technology to oncology. mRNA cancer vaccines offer the potential for precise, patient-specific treatment with reduced off-target effects and may become an important component of future cancer care. This review outlines the mechanisms underlying mRNA cancer vaccines, their current limitations, and recent advances in RNA engineering and delivery systems. Although early clinical trial results are encouraging, benefits over existing therapies remain modest, whilst current high costs and manufacturing challenges hinder widespread implementation. We argue that combining scalable off-the-shelf vaccine platforms with selected personalised features may provide the most practical pathway towards wider clinical use.
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BibTeX
@article{bowyer2026promises,
title = {{Promises and pitfalls of mRNA-based vaccines as cancer treatment.}},
author = {Thomas Bowyer and Richard Phillips and Robert Watson and Shivan Sivakumar},
journal = {BMC biology},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s12915-026-02673-w},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972343},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Promises and pitfalls of mRNA-based vaccines as cancer treatment.
AU - Thomas Bowyer
AU - Richard Phillips
AU - Robert Watson
AU - Shivan Sivakumar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/05
JO - BMC biology
DO - 10.1186/s12915-026-02673-w
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972343
AB - The success of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines has accelerated interest in applying mRNA technology to oncology. mRNA cancer vaccines offer the potential for precise, patient-specific treatment with reduced off-target effects and may become an important component of future cancer care. This review outlines the mechanisms underlying mRNA cancer vaccines, their current limitations, and recent advances in RNA engineering and delivery systems. Although early clinical trial results are encouraging, benefits over existing therapies remain modest, whilst current high costs and manufacturing challenges hinder widespread implementation. We argue that combining scalable off-the-shelf vaccine platforms with selected personalised features may provide the most practical pathway towards wider clinical use.
SN - 1741-7007
ER -