12/26/2025
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Researchers at the University of Florida have developed an experimental mRNA-based cancer vaccine designed to activate the body’s innate immune system rather than targeting a single tumor mutation.
Unlike personalized cancer vaccines that can take months to manufacture, this approach is “off-the-shelf,” meaning it could be administered quickly to patients with aggressive cancers that cannot wait.
In preclinical animal studies, the vaccine triggered strong interferon responses that helped the immune system recognize and attack multiple types of solid tumors, including melanoma and brain cancers.
Early human trials have now begun in patients with hard-to-treat cancers such as pediatric glioma, marking an important transition from laboratory success to real-world testing.
While this is not yet a cure and results in humans are still unknown, the strategy represents a major shift toward broad, fast-acting cancer immunotherapy rather than tumor-specific treatments.