But mRNA vaccines were by no means a new idea. For more than two decades, scientists had been investigating their use against influenza and cancer.
In the latest study, scientists looked back at almost 900 patients with advanced lung cancer treated at MD Anderson and found that those given covid-19 vaccines within 100 days of starting cancer immunotherapy experienced median survival of 37.3 months compared with 20.6 months for those who were not vaccinated. Patients with melanoma that had spread also showed improved median survival when they were vaccinated.