The journal Nature published this week a study showing a nanoparticle RNA anti-cancer vaccine that leverages the immune system's response to viral infection. The results have shown that the vaccine induces immune responses in mouse tumor models and in three patients with advanced melanoma.

The authors are researchers from several German centers, including BionTech AG, a biotechnology firm dedicated to the development of individualized cancer immunotherapies, the Johannes Gutenberg University and the University Hospital of Heidelberg. In the opinion of the researchers, the finding "possibly represents a step towards a universal vaccine for cancer immunotherapy." More information.