Can we outwit cancer’s dirtiest tricks?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Pancreatic and colorectal cancers are among the deadliest. And mutations – like one named KRAS – put their growth into overdrive. What do we do?
Zev Wainberg and team at UCLA tested a new cancer vaccine.
It was developed with Elicio Therapeutics. The shot carried mutant KRAS fragments plus a booster to sharpen immune targeting.
Twenty-five high-risk cancer patients volunteered to try it. Even after finishing standard treatment, they were still facing relapse danger.
Twenty months later, SEVENTY percent of volunteers mounted strong immune responses! They stayed cancer-free much longer!
This vaccine could transform outcomes for people facing these aggressive cancers. It’s a shot so good, cancer never saw it coming!
Reference: Wainberg, Z.A., Weekes, C.D., Furqan, M. et al. Lymph node-targeted, mKRAS-specific amphiphile vaccine in pancreatic and colorectal cancer: phase 1 AMPLIFY-201 trial final results. Nat Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03876-4