Ongoing federal support for mRNA technology and research could make good on a longstanding presidential promise to cure cancer, according to Jeff Coller, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of RNA Biology and Therapeutics at Johns Hopkins University.
In an op-ed published Nov. 5 in The Wall Street Journal, Coller cites research by the University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Florida showing that some cancer patients who received mRNA COVID-19 vaccines during the course of their treatment lived significantly longer than unvaccinated patients undergoing the same therapies—a finding that could, with further study, open the door to more-effective cancer treatments, Coller says.
“These vaccines weren’t designed to treat cancer but to teach the body to recognize the coronavirus spike protein,” Coller writes. “This new research, however, shows the mRNA vaccine also activated powerful immune pathways that enhanced the body’s natural defense network and strengthened its readiness to fight cancer.”
Coller credits the potentially lifesaving findings to federal support from President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed campaign to fast-track COVID vaccines, and he encourages the government to continue funding mRNA research to maintain the momentum of America’s cancer researchers.
“Lawmakers should take note: Pulling back on mRNA research now would risk squandering the most promising advances in cancer care in a generation,” Coller says. “Just as Operation Warp Speed was a catalyst for progress, sustained investment is critical to realizing mRNA’s full potential in the fight against cancer.
“Operation Warp Speed helped open a new front in the war against cancer. By combining American innovation with Mr. Trump’s continued leadership, this could be the moment we finally change the trajectory of this devastating disease.”
Read the entire op-ed on The Wall Street Journal’s website.
This article first appeared on the Hub.