A vaccine for cancer could be here by 2030, scientists say

The research was greatly aided by the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems.

Oct. 17, 2022

A vaccine for cancer could be here by 2030, scientists say

The long road to developing a cure for cancer may finally see some sort of end product if scientists are to be believed.

The husband-and-wife team behind the Pfizer/BioNTech COVD-19 vaccine has said that they feel confident about a cancer vaccine being ready by the year 2030. The Geman scientists Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci — who are also the founders of pharmaceutical company BioNTech — said that they were hesitant to confirm that a cure for cancer was around the corner, but that they’ve already had several “breakthroughs” in the development process.

BioNTech co-founders Ozlem Tureci (left) and Ugur Sahin (right). IMAGE: Manager Magazin

The couple attributed these advancements to the success of their company’s COVID-19 vaccine released during the pandemic, which utilized mRNA technology to transport genetic instructions for nullifying the COVID-19 virus. This was done by getting cells to produce harmless spike proteins, which were then used as indicators that told the body’s immune system what to attack and defend against.

According to Sahin and Tureci, the same approach can be taken to develop cancer vaccines. Theoretically, this would be done by readying immune systems to target cancer cells instead of the COVID-19 virus. Instead of instructions to attack viruses, the vaccines would supply genetic instructions to neutralize cancer antigens or proteins on the surfaces of tumor cells.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, BioNTech had already been working on mRNA cancer vaccines, but according to the team, the demand and widespread use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines over the past couple of years has managed to “give back” to their cancer vaccine research.

Tureci explained that BioNTech had discovered ways to manufacture mRNA vaccines faster over the course of the pandemic, and received deeper insight into how human immune systems tended to respond to mRNA vaccines. Externally, the widespread rollout of such vaccines has also allowed regulators to become more efficient at approving and overseeing public use — an upside that will no doubt boost the deployment of similar future vaccines.

Reportedly, the company has plans to develop cures and fixes for bowel cancer, melanoma, and other forms of cancer, although there’s still plenty of research and testing to be done, and plenty of challenges to overcome. For example, the cancer cells that make up tumors can have numerous proteins, which makes it difficult for a vaccine to target only cancer cells without affecting healthy ones.

This is why the couple is still hesitant on confirming an upcoming cancer cure.

“As scientists, we are always hesitant to say we will have a cure for cancer,” Tureci said. “We have a number of breakthroughs and we will continue to work on them.”