Fight Night! In one corner, cancer. In the other…your immune system?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Traditional cancer treatments pack a punch – often with brutal side effects. How can we reduce those?
Enter David Braun and team at Yale. They developed personalized vaccines for nine high-risk kidney cancer patients.
Now, every cancer grows randomly with its own mutations. THESE vaccines train immune cells to recognize their unique cancer cells.
Researchers tracked the patients for three years. And the knockout punch? NONE of them saw their cancer return! Even better, they experienced minimal side effects compared to standard cancer treatments.
This approach turns the immune system into a champion – like Rocky Balboa! Without the cheesy 80’s training montage.
Reference: Braun, D. A., Moranzoni, G., Chea, V., McGregor, B. A., Blass, E., Tu, C. R., … & Choueiri, T. K. (2025). A neoantigen vaccine generates antitumour immunity in renal cell carcinoma. Nature, 1-9.