Pancreatic Cancer mRNA Vaccine Shows Promise as U.S. Funding Cuts Stall Research

Personalized mRNA vaccines have demonstrated significant potential against pancreatic cancer and melanoma in clinical trials, with seven of 16 pancreatic cancer patients remaining in remission five years after receiving individualized treatments. The findings come as political obstacles and funding cuts have stalled cancer research within the United States.

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest forms of the disease, with an 8% five-year survival rate once diagnosed. A clinical trial conducted at Sloan Kettering Hospital in partnership with Pfizer, Genentech, and BioNTech tested personalized mRNA vaccines on 16 patients with pancreatic cancer. In one case, a 70-year-old woman had a cancerous pancreatic tumor removed in 2020. Using a "subtraction assay," messenger RNA unique to the cancer cells was gathered and suspended in tiny soap bubbles with surface markers to bind to antibody-producing cells. The vaccines contained genetic instructions telling the immune cells to block or attack mutant tumor proteins. After five years and nine vaccine doses, the woman remained cancer-free.

Of the 16 patients in the pancreatic cancer trial, seven were still in remission after five years, while eight patients did not show much of a response to the mRNA vaccine by production of antibodies. The results indicated that individualized mRNA vaccines have great potential against cancer.

Further studies showed that personalized mRNA vaccines could also be effective against melanomas, which mutate more frequently than pancreatic cancers. Patients with stage 2 advanced melanoma who received personalized mRNA vaccines demonstrated a decreased risk of death by almost one half compared to others who received standard treatment.

However, the promise of mRNA vaccines as a weapon against cancer has faced significant setbacks in the U.S. Following the second Trump administration, federal grants were terminated en masse and the National Cancer Institute had its funding cut by one-third. In March 2025, the NIH was told to flag any grants, contracts, or collaborations involving mRNA vaccines for review by Robert Kennedy Jr. Since then, many studies using mRNA vaccines have been stalled or stopped, awaiting court decisions.

The disruption has prompted a talent exodus, with thousands of scientists and research assistants moving to Europe, Canada, and China where support is more reliable. Moderna and other collaborators announced that due to policies against mRNA vaccines, they will no longer conduct late-stage clinical trials in the United States.