COVID vaccine doubles cancer survival rates in immunotherapy patients

A common vaccine could help fight cancer, a new study suggests.

For cancer patients receiving immunotherapy, researchers found that receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine within about 100 days of starting immune checkpoint therapy was associated with significantly better survival.

Researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center analyzed data from more than 1,000 cancer patients with Stage 3 and 4 non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic melanoma treated at MD Anderson from 2019 to 2023.

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All patients were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy drug that helps the immune system recognize and attack tumor cells more effectively.

Some of the patients received the mRNA COVID vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy, and some did not, according to a study press release.

Researchers found that those who received both the vaccine and immunotherapy lived “significantly” longer.

The average survival time for those who received the vaccine was almost double; 37.3 months compared to 20.6 months.

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The greatest survival benefit was seen in patients with immunologically “cold” tumors, that is, typically resistant to immunotherapy. Among these patients, the addition of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was associated with a nearly fivefold increase in three-year overall survival.

“Some patients were still alive when the data was collected, which means the vaccine effect may be even stronger,” the statement said.

Researchers found that receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine within about 100 days of starting immune checkpoint therapy was associated with significantly better survival. (iStock)

The researchers later replicated this result in mouse models; When the mice received a combination of immunotherapy drugs and an mRNA vaccine targeting the COVID-19 spike protein, their tumors became more sensitive to the treatment.

“This is the type of treatment benefit we strive for and hope to see with therapeutic interventions.”

The study found that non-mRNA vaccines for flu and pneumonia did not have the same effects.

The findings were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2025 Congress in Berlin on October 19 and published in the journal Nature.

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senior investigator Dr. “The results are extraordinary; this could revolutionize the entire field of oncology care,” said Elias Sayour.

Because this was an observational study, the researchers noted that a prospective, randomized clinical trial was needed to confirm the findings.

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Director of the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Dr. “Although it has not yet been proven to be causal, this is the type of treatment benefit we strive for and hope to see with therapeutic interventions – but we rarely do,” Duane Mitchell said.

“I think the urgency and importance of confirmatory work cannot be overstated.”

All patients were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy drug that helps the immune system recognize and attack tumor cells more effectively. (iStock)

Researchers now plan to launch a large clinical trial through the UF-led OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Network, a consortium of hospitals, health centers and clinics in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, California and Minnesota, the statement said.

In the future, researchers suggested that a “universal, off-the-shelf” vaccine could be developed to increase the immune response and survival rate of cancer patients.

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“If this could double the success we’re having now, or even incrementally (5%, 10%), it could mean a lot for these patients, especially if it could be used for different patients with different types of cancer,” Sayour added.

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The study was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, the American Brain Tumor Association, and the Radiological Society of North America, among others.