Dutch oncologists praise study showing mRNA vaccines may aid cancer therapy

Dutch doctors and their professional organizations have described the results of research into the influence of the mRNA coronavirus vaccines on the effectiveness of certain cancer treatments as “impressive.” According to the American study, patients with specific types of lung and skin cancer lived significantly longer when they began immunotherapy shortly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccination.

“This fits with what we know about how mRNA vaccines and immunotherapy work,” the Dutch Association for Medical Oncology (NVMO) and the Dutch Association of Physicians for Pulmonary Diseases and Tuberculosis (NVALT) said in response to the news. They see “strong support” for the study’s findings but also urge caution in drawing conclusions.

Although the doctors are positive, they do not rule out that other factors may have played a role. “Perhaps the people who were not vaccinated were in poorer health, had more illnesses, and therefore died sooner.

In the study, doctors analyzed data from more than 1,000 people. According to the article in Nature, patients with a certain type of lung cancer who had received an mRNA vaccine survived for an average of 37 months, 16 months longer than unvaccinated patients.

Oncologist and internist John Haanen of the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital also commented on the findings. He acknowledged that retrospective studies are “a bit risky,” but noted that the researchers had ruled out other possible factors “as much as possible.”

He concluded that while the study does not provide definitive proof, it does offer “strong indications” that mRNA vaccines may strengthen the body’s resistance to cancer. He would like to see these results confirmed through follow-up studies in which patients are divided into two groups for comparison.

Haanen also referred to another study that showed positive effects of an mRNA vaccine given to cancer patients. That vaccine was tailored to proteins in the tumor.

The oncologist, who also serves as a professor by special appointment in Leiden, now wonders whether the effect lies in the specific coding or in the administration of any mRNA vaccine at all. “The question is whether even an ‘empty’ vaccine might work,” he said, adding that he would like to see further research into this.