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Posted on 08/15/2026 8:05:46 AM PDT by libh8er
Inspired by the work of the RNA Therapeutics Institute at UMass Chan Medical School and the development of the COVID vaccine, Marcus Ruscetti, PhD, and Chaitanya Naimesh Parikh, PhD’26, have developed an immunotherapy using a cocktail of messenger RNAs (mRNA) that could potentially be transformative for pancreatic cancer treatment.
The study, published in Nature Communications, combines immune cytokine and tumor-associated antigen mRNAs into a single injection to treat pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Approximately 50 percent of mice with pancreatic cancer treated with the mRNA immunotherapeutic cocktail saw complete tumor responses and more impressively, remained disease free for a year, even after treatment had been stopped.
“It’s unheard of to get a response like this in these models of pancreatic cancer,” said Dr. Parikh, a recent PhD graduate from the Ruscetti Lab. “There have been a lot of drugs tried in the lab that have had good initial responses in mice but ultimately the cancer always comes back. This is the only study I’ve seen that has achieved durable tumor protection.”
Dr. Ruscetti, associate professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology, added, “Going from mice into patients takes a huge effort and is never a sure thing. However, if there was one approach I had to bet on being successful, this is the one. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common and aggressive type of pancreatic cancer. It starts inside the tiny tubes that carry digestive juices out of the pancreas. Because early signs are hard to notice, pancreatic cancer is often found after it has spread to other organs. The five-year survival rate for stage IV of the disease is 3 percent, while the overall survival rate for all stages is 13 percent.
Immunotherapies have emerged as an incredibly effective treatment strategy for certain cancer types. These drugs use the power of the body’s own immune system to find, control and destroy cancer cells. In the 1980s and 1990s, cytokines–tiny proteins, such as interleukins, interferons and tumor necrosis factors released by cells that act as chemical messengers to recruit, activate and produce immune cells–were used to stimulate the immune system into fighting cancer cells. Unfortunately, these early attempts turned on the body’s entire immune system, causing a system-wide reaction that had dangerous side effects and did not eradicate most tumors.
Thanks to decades of basic biological research, scientists now know the specific cytokines that activate the immune system to fight different kinds of foreign and damaged cells, including pancreatic cancer. “What we need is a way to get these immune signals to the tumor so they can do their job,” said Ruscetti.
Pancreatic tumors, however, are very good at hiding from immune cells. The cancer cells build a fibrotic barrier around the tumor, like a wall around a castle, that keeps immune cells at bay. To fight off the cancer cells, the immune system must break down this wall and get its cells into the tumor environment in a way that doesn’t exhaust its ability to mount a defense while also recognizing tumor cells as foreign material that need removing.
“All these steps are lacking in pancreatic cancer,” said Ruscetti. “That’s where the mRNA comes into play.”
mRNAs carry the genetic instructions necessary for building proteins–such as cytokines and antigens. They act as a temporary copy of a gene that is then translated into a protein. When injecting mouse models with five cytokine mRNAs, combined with three tumor antigen mRNAs that help the immune system “see” the pancreatic tumor cells as foreign materials, Ruscetti and Parikh observed a reduction in fibrotic material and increased tumor cell necrosis.
Approximately half of the mice treated experienced complete remission that continued up to one year after treatment had been stopped, potentially indicating that the immune system had established a long-term “memory” of the pancreatic cancer cells.
“This is a first-of-its-kind approach combining cytokine mRNAs with tumor associated antigen mRNA that could pave the path for effective immunotherapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas,” said Parikh. “Beyond this cancer, this mRNA immunotherapy strategy has the capacity to be modular and can potentially be used as a platform to treat other types of immune-resistance cancers simply by swapping out different mRNA sequences.”
Initial funding for the study was provided by the Worcester-based Pancreatic Cancer Alliance, a patient advocacy group that supports pancreatic cancer research at UMass Chan. Researchers are now developing a potential IND-ready product of the cocktail in preparation for future clinical trials.
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Interesting read. “...could potentially ....” “...can potentially....” Wait and see, but “now developing a potential IND-ready product” suggests marekting is underway.
Anytime I see the acronym “mRNA” it’s always a big red flag to me.....and from now on probably always will be.
Don’t blame the tool; blame the user of the tool.
And the side effects are?????????
Agreed. Recall the head of Bayer speaking to "re-branding" gene therapy during the Covid time when re-defining vaccine to include it was done/ As with the political ploys of the Left in redefining terms, it is the same with marketeers of all sort. So does it seem to me. The old Missus and and the older I are still un-mRNA'd and intend to remain so.
BS. I will NEVER take a VACCINE that the EXPERTS tell me to ever again. Give a “VACCINE” to facilitate daily. That should be his punishment. Blood clot him to death.
Facilitate = FAUCI
Harpotoo wrote: “And the side effects are?????????”
The side effect is that you live longer, Pancreatic cancer is a killer with few effective treatments. The five year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 13%, meaning 87% die within five years.
When the alternative is pancreatic cancer, I might have a different view ...
I feel the same way about the prefix “nano”, used in the “lipid nanoparticles” used to distribute the mRNA. Everything patentable is called “nano”.
The mRNA is beloved of the pharmaceutical companies because it replaces expensive vats of living cells with PCR chemistry, I believe. This is much cheaper and quicker than rendering an entire virus undamaging, as well.
The mRNA makes the recipient the only living part of the process, and his cells produce the narrow proteins used to train his immune system. Of course, they are attacked and killed in the process.
From what I know of Multiple Sclerosis, it has me worried, too. The immune system is a powerful weapon, and this should never have gotten out of a lab.
Riiiight...
Fool me once ...
I don’t think so.
This was a mouse trial, a long way from a product.
There was an article this morning about a vaccine trial with 20 humans here:
https://www.dailymail.com/health/article-16050863/pancreatic-cancer-vaccine-cyst-shrinkage.html
That DM article is based on the more scientific report here:
https://aacrjournals.org/cancerdiscovery/article/doi/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-2245/786404/First-in-human-testing-of-a-mutant-KRAS-vaccine?token=0f5ae4ba-eb16-42d6-a983-9984b5312839
“Research Article| July 16 2026
First-in-human testing of a mutant KRAS vaccine for pancreatic cancer interception in high-risk cohorts...
“
And while looking for info on KRAS, I found this very short article in Wiki about mRNA-5671 abandoned in 2021...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRNA-5671
“Cancer vaccine”
j/s oddly it’s pancreatic cancer day in media
Thank you for your BS reply to a serious question.
Dugway is a whore for Big Pharma. We learned that five years ago.
MRNA kills and disables.
Now, this is the initial goal behind mRNA — targeted attacks on specific diseases.
As a vaccine, they are universally crappola.
As a treatment, they can be golden.
I had a friend whose grandfather, father, and then he himself that died rather quickly from pancreatic cancer. His son has refused to find out if he has a marker.
I’m not doing any vaccines at this point in my life even though my GP always pushes them at me. But if I was diagnosed with PC I’d prolly go with whatever treatment they had. Too often folks are in Stage III or IV when it is discovered - 3% survival rate.
We have the healthiest mice on Earth.................
Great news for mice.
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