Patients with advanced lung cancer or melanoma who received an mRNA vaccine against Covid in a “window” of 100 days before or after the start of immunotherapy had significantly longer survival than those who were not vaccinated. This is reported by the Independent with reference to a groundbreaking study by American expert groups. The authors emphasize: the results are preliminary, a randomized trial is being prepared.
In a cohort of 180 patients with advanced lung cancer, median survival almost doubled—from 20.6 to 37.3 months—among those who received the mRNA vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy. For metastatic melanoma (43 vaccinated vs. 167 unvaccinated), the median increased from 26.7 months to approximately 30–40 months. However, influenza or pneumonia vaccines, which not mRNA vaccines, did not show a similar effect.
The researchers hypothesize an immunological mechanism: the mRNA vaccine acts as a "flash" that redistributes immune cells from affected areas (tumor) to immune centers (lymph nodes), enhancing the response to immunotherapy. The team is preparing a randomized clinical trial to confirm the connection and rule out the influence of extraneous factors.
