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> If an escape variant emerges, RNA vaccine makers such as Pfizer and Moderna could probably design and synthesize an initial prototype jab against it in a few

> If an escape variant emerges, RNA vaccine makers such as Pfizer and Moderna could probably design and synthesize an initial prototype jab against it in a few days. how far away are we from a scenario for something like cancer? take a biopsy, few days later formulate antibodies/immunotherapy, have a targeted treatment within a week... it would be revolutionary...

jghn 5y ago
This is one of those places where it's important to keep in mind that "cancer" is just a class of disease and that there are (at least) hundreds of different things in that class. Immunotherapy is a thing and shows promise in some cancers. Moderna was founded around using mRNA technology in the cancer space. But as with all advances in cancer treatment, it won't look like a Big Bang "cure for cancer", instead some cancers will realize some (potentially huge) benefit.
flarg 5y ago
The rest of the supply chain for clinical studies at least would have to catch up unfortunately these systems are woefully inadequate
Aissen 5y ago
I read in a pop science magazine that their are multiple trials in that direction. It could indeed be revolutionary.
garmaine 5y ago
It’s already done. It just doesn’t have FDA approval…
rcxdude 5y ago
It wouldn't work in quite the same way. The advantage with mRNA vaccines is basically as soon as you have the sequence of the virus you can quickly introduce any part of it to someone who hasn't been infected yet with no risk of infecting them. This allows their immune system to get a practice run in, offering a substantial immunity to the virus (the mRNA vaccines do not code for antibodies, your body figures out the antibodies from the parts of the virus coded for in the injected mRNA). It doesn't work at all if they are already infected because their immune system is already fighting the real thing. If someone is already suffering from cancer, their immune system is already fighting against it and just showing more bits of the cancer to the immune system isn't likely to be super useful (usually cancer which is causing symptoms has already managed to evade the immune system somehow). For mRNA to be a useful therapy you'll need to do something cleverer to induce a useful immune response (or to affect the cancer cells).
- hirvi74 5y ago
  Could we perhaps engineer something like a virus to attack the cancer cells or perhaps infect the cells with a virus, and use the mRNA to encourage the immune system to attack the cancer cells infected with said virus? Sorry if all of this seems too sci-fi or utopian. I am not a biologist nor medical professional.
cweagans 5y ago
mRNA vaccines were originally invented for cancer treatment (late 90s). AFAIK, there wasn't much success.

jghn 5y ago

This is one of those places where it's important to keep in mind that "cancer" is just a class of disease and that there are (at least) hundreds of different things in that class. Immunotherapy is a thing and shows promise in some cancers. Moderna was founded around using mRNA technology in the cancer space. But as with all advances in cancer treatment, it won't look like a Big Bang "cure for cancer", instead some cancers will realize some (potentially huge) benefit.

flarg 5y ago

The rest of the supply chain for clinical studies at least would have to catch up unfortunately these systems are woefully inadequate

Aissen 5y ago

I read in a pop science magazine that their are multiple trials in that direction. It could indeed be revolutionary.

garmaine 5y ago

It’s already done. It just doesn’t have FDA approval…

rcxdude 5y ago

It wouldn't work in quite the same way. The advantage with mRNA vaccines is basically as soon as you have the sequence of the virus you can quickly introduce any part of it to someone who hasn't been infected yet with no risk of infecting them. This allows their immune system to get a practice run in, offering a substantial immunity to the virus (the mRNA vaccines do not code for antibodies, your body figures out the antibodies from the parts of the virus coded for in the injected mRNA). It doesn't work at all if they are already infected because their immune system is already fighting the real thing. If someone is already suffering from cancer, their immune system is already fighting against it and just showing more bits of the cancer to the immune system isn't likely to be super useful (usually cancer which is causing symptoms has already managed to evade the immune system somehow). For mRNA to be a useful therapy you'll need to do something cleverer to induce a useful immune response (or to affect the cancer cells).

hirvi74 5y ago
Could we perhaps engineer something like a virus to attack the cancer cells or perhaps infect the cells with a virus, and use the mRNA to encourage the immune system to attack the cancer cells infected with said virus? Sorry if all of this seems too sci-fi or utopian. I am not a biologist nor medical professional.

cweagans 5y ago

mRNA vaccines were originally invented for cancer treatment (late 90s). AFAIK, there wasn't much success.