* mRNA vaccines aren't a silver bullet for cancer, but may help when paired with other therapeutic modalities.
* cancer and covid are different. covid is far simpler because vaccines can target a single antigen, the spike protein.
* by contrast, many tumors mutate and over time evade single-antigen vaccines. moreover, different tumors may exhibit different antigens so what works for one cancer type may not translate to another. lastly, vaccines require cooperation from the immune system. even if researchers identify a promising antigen, there's no guarantee the immune system will recognize this antigen and act against the tumor.
* in summary, one of the hardest questions when developing cancer vaccines is defining which antigens to target.
terms (from wikipedia):
* antigen: a molecule or molecular structure, that may be present on the outside of a pathogen, that can be bound by an antigen-specific antibody or B-cell antigen receptor. The presence of antigens in the body normally triggers an immune response.
* mRNA vaccines aren't a silver bullet for cancer, but may help when paired with other therapeutic modalities.
* cancer and covid are different. covid is far simpler because vaccines can target a single antigen, the spike protein.
* by contrast, many tumors mutate and over time evade single-antigen vaccines. moreover, different tumors may exhibit different antigens so what works for one cancer type may not translate to another. lastly, vaccines require cooperation from the immune system. even if researchers identify a promising antigen, there's no guarantee the immune system will recognize this antigen and act against the tumor.
* in summary, one of the hardest questions when developing cancer vaccines is defining which antigens to target.
terms (from wikipedia):
* antigen: a molecule or molecular structure, that may be present on the outside of a pathogen, that can be bound by an antigen-specific antibody or B-cell antigen receptor. The presence of antigens in the body normally triggers an immune response.