Is the MRna cancer vaccine available? (Maybe LILAlex?)

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Recently I read that the Mrna vaccine staved off the return of pancreatic cancer in one half of patients. When I read that I was quite floored. I thought what does this mean.? I have an adenoma in my stomach that I have been told will turn into pancreatic cancer. So I thought why can't I take the vaccine to stave off the cancer? So, I asked my DR. who of course knew nothing about it. His nurse however said she would research it for me. This nurse acts like the Dr. and the Dr. acts like her assistant.(Its really true), As I continued to research I found that MRna also has wonderful results with melanomas (skin cancer(). Does anyone know anything about these astounding results with a MRNA vaccine?
Thanks in Advance. I want the vaccine!

Annette

 

[MissGotRocks]

I don’t know about the vaccine but hopefully someone here will. That would be fabulous for you!

 

[LilAlex]

Sorry to hear that you are wrestling with this, @smitcompton.

I am not an expert but here are some thoughts from a quick search of trials and off the top of my head. This is not medical advice and it may not be 100% current or accurate.

On ClinicalTrials.gov, I see 109 clinical trials of vaccine therapy for pancreatic cancer. (It's a good site and you can see what centers are asking what research questions -- and there are a lot of filters that you can apply for, say, actively-enrolling studies, etc.) I have not reviewed all of them but I do not see one for an mRNA vaccine. That would be pretty new since COVID was, AFAIK, the first successful implementation.

Cancer vaccines are not "prophylactic"; they are a type of treatment. Your immune system is supposed to protect you from infection and from unchecked tumor cell proliferation but, in cancer, the abnormal cells have found some way to "evade" the immune system. (Some activate an immune response that can cause other "autoimmune" symptoms but it's not enough to lead to destruction of the tumor.)

My understanding is that in vaccine therapy for cancer, a protein that is also found in the tumor is modified (ex vivo -- outside the body in the lab) to make it more effective at eliciting an immune response. It is then administered like a vaccine. It can be co-administered with an "adjuvant" that is known to activate the immune system. Or it can be a "chimera" of a protein that the patient's tumor makes and a different protein designed to tickle the immune system into "turning on." The advantage of an mRNA-based strategy is that it saves a lot of steps; it's easy and cheap to synthesize nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) but tricky to make proteins.

So a cancer vaccine would not protect someone from developing a cancer (at least not what we currently have available).

To your point, it is rare that one could confidently say that an adenoma will eventually turn into a cancer -- so I am hoping that you have accurate information about your health. They are on a continuum, genetically -- usually the cancer has accumulated more mutations than the adenoma. Exceptions could be if one makes an enormous number of adenomas (some familial colon-polyp syndromes), then that increases the odds that one of them, some day, will "transform" into a more aggressive cell type and cause a cancer. There are others -- like adenomas of the adrenal gland -- that are much more likely to be cancer if they are above a certain size at the time they are diagnosed.

And when you say "stomach," I assume you do not mean the actual stomach but the abdomen -- since nothing in the stomach would or could lead to pancreatic cancer.

But the TL;DR is that cancer vaccines are not preventative like vaccines for infectious diseases; they are treatments for existing cancers.

Not sure if i am making things better or worse -- but I am trying to answer the question....

 

[Calliecake]

I’ve been thinking of you @smitcompton.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
Dear LilAlex,
You have not made things more confusing. You have clarified some things for me. This vaccine is not in trials (at least what I an tell). It exists. This adenoma was found 6 years ago with a prognosis of becoming cancerous in 9 months. I'm waiting. I went to the Mayo to see if they could remove it, but arteries have grown around it and the big surgeon said I would not survive his operation. So I went home, and gave away my jewels, my paintings, my worldly goods, and basically see how much money I can leave my heirs. (I only write that for your eyes.)

So, if I recap--this vaccine would not be my saving grace at this time as no active cancer is present. But I am happy to have found an advance in treatment with the MRNA for those patients who need it. I think its wonderful news. If not for me, for others.

Thank you so much for replying. On a side note I have wanted to say, your wife is right. You do have good taste. i love your dragonfly ring. Taste is an old fashioned word but reliable to say clearly its beautiful.

Thank You again,
Annette

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
Calliecakes-- I always think of you, particularly when we have such good news about the orangeman. The coverage has been excellent. "Its going to be wild" So happy for the U.S.A.

I hope your nice husband is well and enjoying his golf. And you are keeping satisfied as well.

Love Annette

 

[LilAlex]

So I went home...

Thank you for the kind words, @smitcompton.

I'm sorry you have had this "Sword of Damocles" hanging over you -- it's a terrible feeling. I'm reassured that you sought out top-notch care and that the prediction was incorrect.

My father had a pancreatic mass that was being watched with serial imaging. He passed away very suddenly from something completely unrelated. This is the difference that "old age" makes.

I will overstep (and probably overshare) one more time and say that if (not when) the time should come that you are facing the prospect of discomfort, I am a huge believer in inpatient hospice. A lot of folks say they want to pass away at home but have not fully thought through the logistics, impact on family, impact on their privacy and dignity, and so forth.

I am speaking from experience. My mom passed away in her 80s after having battled metastatic cancer for a number of years. (Well, not so much battled as fought the good fight through "high value" treatments and deciding enough's enough when low-value treatments were being pushed on her.) Through it all, we (adult) kids promised her that she would not be alone and she would not be in pain. At the end, she was in inpatient hospice for close to two months (a fairly long time) and we kept that promise. She was very comfortable there and well taken care of. We did most of the care -- but staff helped with hygiene and administered pain meds. And much of the focus was effective pain relief. Visitors could visit and not have to be caregivers. We reminisced and laughed and she would doze off and pop awake. One evening, we all shared a bottle of champagne brought from her home. It wasn't...morbid or overly clinical; it all felt very homey and normal.

I had heard the word "hospice" thousands of times but until then I did not have a real understanding of the remarkable role it can play -- especially that of inpatient hospice. Seeing my mom so comfortable and relaxed in her final days -- I'm just so grateful.

It's expensive -- way cheaper than the hospital but not typically covered by insurance. It was some of the best money we have ever spent.

If you are appalled by all of this, I'm sorry. My hope is that maybe someone will read this and think "Hmmm, I could kinda see doing that..."

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
I looked into this topic with new questions and have found this vaccine has not been approved by the FDA and so is probably in clinical trials for pancreatic and melanoma cancers..( and others as well). Pfizer, Moderna and Genetech are working on it, and an article stated that Dana Farber in Boston has received large funding for research. It looks promising.(I think its exciting)

Several of my friends are up in years and have lost spouses. One friend tells the story of her husband who wanted to go into inpatient hospice care because he was concerned that if he died at home, he would, in the afterlife, haunt the home, and didn't want my friend to have a haunted house after he died. He died peacefully in inpatient care. (He was a lawyer)

It is easier to face death as you get older. I have lived a life with more opportunities for women than ever before, inside marriage or outside of it. Sometimes life seemed hard, sometimes wonderful. I have met extraordinary people, who were willing to teach me some of the elements of a good life. So, at 84(next month) I look back with tenderness at those that were part of it I don't want to go into that night, but there are no choices at the end. So, I'm ready when the call comes.

And I say to you LilAlex that my words of kindness to you are because I see you as a good man and a smart one. I pick my heroes carefully. You may be my last hero. Take good care of yourself and your family and continue to be a good man. Remember, we all do need a hero.

Annette

 

[LilAlex]

@smitcompton, I admire your spirit and your wisdom -- and your philosophical approach. And I'm glad you have the tech-savvy to research the right questions and to self-advocate!

You're too kind, of course. There are plenty of real heroes out there! I do feel strongly about this stuff and it made a difference for my family and me at a tough time.

I am wishing for you many more good years (!). If you have any questions, I'll do my best to muddy the water again!

 

[Calliecake]

@smitcomptom Annette, I’m grateful I’ve gotten to know you on this forum. There is so much to be admired about you. Your post to @LilAlex was beautiful, heartfelt but most of all so very true, especially about the people who touch our lives.

As you can guess, I was thinking of you yesterday. I hope this works out the way we are hoping it will. I told my husband I would love to sit down with you, a cup of coffee and talk about this.