{"id":19387,"date":"2026-07-24T13:25:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T13:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/?p=19387"},"modified":"2026-07-24T13:25:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T13:25:41","slug":"an-experimental-vaccine-may-protect-against-pancreatic-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/2026\/07\/24\/an-experimental-vaccine-may-protect-against-pancreatic-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"An experimental vaccine may protect against pancreatic cancer."},"content":{"rendered":"

An experimental vaccine targeting common gene mutations linked to pancreatic cancer has shown the ability to stimulate long-lasting immune responses in people at high risk of developing the disease, in an early clinical trial that researchers said provides the first evidence in humans that vaccines can be used to intercept <\/span>before it develops and may protect those at risk of developing pancreatic cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Results from a phase 1 trial, published in the journal Cancer Discovery, indicated that the vaccine was safe and stimulated specialized immune cell responses against mutations in the Kras gene in 90% of participants. Some of these responses remained detectable in the blood for up to two years after vaccination.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study included 20 people at high risk of developing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common and aggressive type of pancreatic cancer, due to a genetic predisposition and the presence of lesions in the pancreas that appeared in imaging tests, often in the form of small cysts.<\/span><\/p>\n

The vaccine, known as mKRAS-VAX, targets six of the most common KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer. It uses protein fragments designed to train the immune system to detect and destroy cells carrying these mutations before they develop into cancerous tumors. The vaccine is administered subcutaneously at weeks one, three, and five, followed by a booster dose at week thirteen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Disappearance of cancerous cysts<\/span><\/h2>\n

After an average follow-up of 16.5 months, none of the participants developed pancreatic cancer. Researchers also observed that some precancerous cysts shrank or disappeared, but stressed that the trial was small and not designed to prove that the vaccine actually prevents cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The researchers reported that 37.5% of vaccinated participants experienced shrinkage or disappearance of pancreatic cysts, compared to 6.8% in an unvaccinated group with similar characteristics. However, this comparison was exploratory and not part of a randomized controlled trial, thus preventing definitive conclusions from being drawn regarding efficacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Kras gene is the primary driver of cancer in more than 90% of pancreatic ductal carcinomas, and its mutations are also present in many precancerous lesions. The vaccine contains long synthetic peptides designed to introduce the immune system to six of the most common Kras mutations, enabling T cells to recognize and attack abnormal cells before they develop into invasive tumors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Study co-author Neha Zaidi, associate professor of oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, said that sustained immune response is particularly important in cancer prevention, because intercepting the disease may require years of immune surveillance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Genetic mutations increase the risk of cancer<\/span><\/h2>\n

Individuals with genetic mutations that increase their risk of pancreatic cancer, or who have concerning lesions, undergo regular screenings to monitor for any changes. When a lesion is strongly suspected of becoming cancerous, surgical removal is the primary treatment option, but it is a major procedure, and some microscopic lesions are not detectable by imaging.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The researchers said that developing a non-surgical intervention that prevents precancerous lesions from becoming cancerous could be of particular importance in pancreatic cancer, which is often diagnosed after it has spread and remains associated with low survival rates.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the team cautioned against considering the results as evidence of successful prevention; the number of participants was limited, the follow-up period was relatively short, and the analysis of the immune response was limited to blood cells, without proving that T cells reached the precancerous tissues within the pancreas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another study is currently underway to directly examine tissue samples and determine whether the immune cells generated by the vaccine can penetrate the targeted lesions. Researchers said that larger, randomized trials with longer follow-up will be necessary to determine whether the vaccine can indeed reduce the incidence of pancreatic cancer and improve survival rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Categories<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An experimental vaccine targeting common gene mutations linked to pancreatic cancer has shown the ability to stimulate long-lasting immune responses…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19387"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19389,"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19387\/revisions\/19389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tastyrecipes.milaf.ma\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}