How personalized vaccines target cancer tumors

By Sonya Goins

Vaccines help protect against the flu and COVID-19, but could they also play a role in the fight against cancer? Imagine a future where every cancer treatment is personalized to each patient, precisely targeting their unique cancer cells. 

Keith Knutson, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic cancer vaccine researcher, explains how the development of personalized lung cancer vaccines is giving hope to patients.

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It may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but it is reality. Mayo Clinic researchers are developing personalized lung cancer vaccines.

"We actually make a vaccine that's specific for each individual's cancers," says Dr. Knutson.

The process involves analyzing cancer cells to create a one-of-a-kind vaccine.

"We can take a small part of that cancer and sequence that cancer and get the information that we need to design the vaccine," he explains.

The vaccine uses the immune system to identify and combat cancer.

"We can use that vaccine to hopefully prevent the disease from coming back, or we can use it to help shrink a tumor when given with other types of therapies," Dr. Knutson says.

You can reduce your risk of lung cancer by quitting smoking and avoiding exposure to secondhand smoke.

Learn more

Read this article to learn more about Dr. Knutson's work: "Vaccines: The next frontier of lung cancer treatment and prevention."

Learn more about lung cancer and find a clinical trial at Mayo Clinic.

Join the Lung Cancer Support Group on Mayo Clinic Connect, an online community moderated by Mayo Clinic for patients and caregivers.

Also, read these articles:

• Innovation in lung cancer screening, treatment
• Reducing your risk of lung cancer
• Tomorrow's Cure: How personalized vaccines combat cancer

A version of this article was originally published on the Mayo Clinic News Network.