mRNA cancer vaccine

The mRNA cancer vaccine, specifically developed at the University of Florida (UF), is a personalized immunotherapy designed to reprogram the immune system to attack tumors. It utilizes messenger RNA (mRNA) extracted from a patient's own tumor cells, which is then amplified and encapsulated within an engineered complex lipid particle (LP) delivery mechanism, forming multi-lamellar LP aggregates (LPA). These LPAs function simultaneously as vaccines and immunomodulating agents, alerting the immune system in a profound way to recognize tumor cells as foreign. The vaccine aims to fight treatment-resistant cancers, such as glioblastoma, by rapidly reprogramming the tumor microenvironment and eliciting a vigorous, antigen-specific immune response. Elias Sayour, MD, PhD, a UF Health pediatric oncologist, pioneered this new vaccine.