Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have outlined a novel approach to cancer therapy that uses vaccines many people receive during childhood. The work, described in Frontiers in Immunology, explores how a common vaccine component can be repurposed to target cancer cells and stimulate the body’s own defenses to fight the disease.
The core idea centers on placing a protein antigen from a standard vaccine into a malignant tumor, directing the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer. A safe form of Salmonella is proposed as a carrier to deliver the antigen directly into the tumor environment, offering a targeted trigger for immune activation without widespread exposure to the body.
In laboratory experiments, the researchers engineered Salmonella to transport ovalbumin, a protein found in egg whites, into pancreatic tumor cells in mice that were vaccinated against ovalbumin. The delivery system caused the protein to spread throughout the cytoplasm of both normal tissues and tumor cells, creating a visible target for immune surveillance.
As the immune system encountered ovalbumin within the cancer cells, it mounted an antigen-specific response that led to an attack on the cancerous cytoplasm. The results were notable: the treatment reduced pancreatic tumor burden by 43%, extended survival times, and prevented tumor reimplantation in several cases. Among seven mice treated, three achieved full recovery, demonstrating the potential of this strategy to induce durable disease control in animal models.
The researchers observed that the immune system began to reject cancer cells in vaccinated animals, making it difficult for new tumors to establish themselves. This rejection provides evidence that the vaccine-driven approach can convert a tumor into a recognizable target for immune cells, rather than a silent site that evades detection.
Looking ahead, experts believe this method could broaden the range of cancers responsive to immunotherapy. The team highlights the potential applicability to liver cancer, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer, where traditional therapies often face challenges in achieving lasting control. While the work is at an early stage, the prospect of leveraging routine vaccines as a backbone for cancer immunotherapy holds promise for expanding options in both the United States and Canada. Realizing this potential will require careful optimization of the delivery system, dosing, and safety profiling in larger models and, eventually, human trials. Further research will also focus on identifying which tumor types are most amenable to this strategy and how best to combine it with other immune-boosting treatments to maximize benefit for patients. [1] [2] [3]