A new study shows that cancer patients with advanced lung or skin cancer who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy lived significantly longer than those who did not. Researchers from the University of Florida and MD Anderson Cancer Center presented the findings at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Berlin. The results suggest the vaccine acts as a nonspecific immune booster, potentially revolutionizing cancer treatment.
The research, building on over a decade of mRNA-based immunotherapy development, analyzed medical records from more than 1,000 patients treated at MD Anderson between 2019 and 2023. For advanced non-small cell lung cancer, 180 patients who got the COVID mRNA vaccine within 100 days before or after starting immunotherapy had a median survival of 37.3 months, compared to 20.6 months for 704 patients who did not receive it. In metastatic melanoma, 43 vaccinated patients saw median survival rise to 30-40 months, versus 26.7 months for 167 unvaccinated ones; some vaccinated patients were still alive at data collection, suggesting even stronger effects.
Non-mRNA vaccines, such as those for pneumonia or flu, showed no survival benefits. The study highlights improvements especially in patients unlikely to respond well to immunotherapy alone, where treatments like checkpoint inhibitors aim to help the immune system target tumors but often fail in advanced stages after options like surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy are exhausted.
"The implications are extraordinary -- this could revolutionize the entire field of oncologic care," said senior researcher Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., a UF Health pediatric oncologist. The vaccine's mechanism involves acting as a 'flare' that redirects immune cells from tumors to lymph nodes, mimicking a viral infection response without targeting specific tumor proteins.
Presented on October 19, 2025, in Berlin, the observational findings require confirmation via randomized trials. Researchers plan a large clinical trial through the UF-led OneFlorida+ network across multiple states. Mouse models supported the results, showing mRNA vaccines paired with immunotherapy could make unresponsive cancers responsive. Funded by the National Cancer Institute and foundations, the work ties to patents held by Sayour and colleagues, licensed to iOncologi Inc.
If validated, this could lead to a universal, off-the-shelf mRNA vaccine enhancing immunotherapy across cancers, offering patients more time. "If this can double what we're achieving currently, or even incrementally -- 5%, 10% -- that means a lot to those patients," Sayour noted.