Covid-19 Vaccine Linked To Longer Survival In Cancer Patients: Study

A new study suggests that cancer patients who received a Covid-19 mRNA vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy lived significantly longer than those who did not. Researchers from the University of Florida (UF) and MD Anderson Cancer Center believe the vaccine may trigger immune responses that boost the effectiveness of cancer treatments.

The research focused on patients with advanced lung and skin cancers. Those vaccinated within 100 days of beginning immunotherapy experienced longer survival, according to data from over 1,000 MD Anderson patients.

Scientists describe the vaccine as acting like a nonspecific “flare” that reactivates the immune system, potentially boosting cancer-fighting responses. “The implications are extraordinary. This could revolutionise the entire field of oncologic care,” said senior researcher Elias Sayour, MD, PhD, a UF Health pediatric oncologist.

Building on more than a decade of work developing mRNA-based treatments, the team observed that Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could improve the impact of immune checkpoint inhibitors, which are drugs that help the immune system recognise and attack tumours. Previous studies in mice showed similar results, with mRNA vaccines turning previously unresponsive cancers into ones that responded to treatment.

Jeff Coller, an mRNA expert at Johns Hopkins University, said, “The results from this study demonstrate how powerful mRNA medicines truly are and that they are revolutionizing our treatment of cancer.”

Among 180 advanced lung cancer patients vaccinated within 100 days of starting immunotherapy, median survival nearly doubled from 20.6 months to 37.3 months.

For metastatic melanoma patients, vaccination increased median survival from 26.7 months to between 30 and 40 months, with some patients still alive at the time of data collection. Non-mRNA vaccines, such as flu or pneumonia shots, showed no impact on survival.

The team plans to launch a large clinical trial through the UF-led OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Network, spanning multiple states. Researchers hope these trials will confirm the results and pave the way for a universal nonspecific mRNA vaccine to complement immunotherapy.

“One of our key motivations at OneFlorida is to move discoveries from academic settings out into the real world and the places where patients get care,” said Betsy Shenkman, Ph.D., who leads the consortium.

If validated, these findings could transform cancer treatment, offering patients more time and potentially improving outcomes across a range of advanced cancers.