An observational study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Florida (UF), the lead site of the OneFlorida+ PCORnet® Clinical Research Network, showed promising results for the potential of mRNA vaccines to improve health outcomes for people who have advanced lung or skin cancer.
The preliminary research, published in Nature, found that patients who received an mRNA COVID vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy lived significantly longer than those who did not receive an mRNA vaccine.
These results suggest that mRNA COVID vaccines could be powerful tools in treating cancer by improving the body’s response to a type of immunotherapy called immune checkpoint inhibitors. While personalized mRNA cancer vaccines can help a patient’s immune system better recognize and target cancer cells, these vaccines can be expensive and hard to make.
Leveraging the PCORnet infrastructure
To confirm the study’s findings that the low-cost, widely accessible mRNA COVID vaccines can also be used to train the body’s immune system to kill cancer cells, researchers at UF will leverage the infrastructure and data resources available through PCORnet to plan and conduct a large, nationwide Phase II/Phase III clinical trial. The trial, called UNIFIER (UNiversal Immunization to Fortify Immunotherapy Efficacy and Response), will enroll patients who have lung cancer.
“The results of the clinical trial may inform the development of a universal mRNA vaccine to help spark the immune system’s response to a variety of different cancers. This research has the potential to improve health outcomes for millions of people,” said UNIFIER Co-Principal Investigator Elias Sayour, MD, PhD, University of Florida.
“We are excited to support this research to determine the effects of mRNA COVID vaccines on immunotherapy treatments in real-world settings,” said Betsy Shenkman, PhD, One Florida+ Principal Investigator.
Studies leveraging PCORnet resources have already answered critical patient-centered questions on heart disease, metabolic conditions, obesity, and more — demonstrating the power of PCORnet to improve patient care through efficient, high-quality research.
To conduct this important next phase of their research to advance cancer treatments, the clinical trial team at OneFlorida+ plans to collaborate with PCORnet® Clinical Research Network sites across the nation.
Are you ready to find out how PCORnet can support your next patient-centered study? Contact the PCORnet® Front Door to start the conversation.