Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
mRNA vaccines trigger fast immune response in dog brain tumors
By Carrera-Justiz, Sheila et al.·Published in Journal for immunotherapy of cancer·2025·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Systemic mRNA vaccines elicit rapid immune activation in canine brain tumors.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Ten dogs with brain tumors called gliomas received a new type of mRNA vaccine designed to boost their immune response against cancer. The vaccine was generally well tolerated, and the dogs showed a good immune reaction after treatment. Those who received more doses had a longer median survival time of 155 days compared to 123 days for those who received fewer doses, which is better than what has been seen with standard palliative care. This promising approach is still being studied, but it shows potential for improving treatment options for dogs with brain tumors.
People also search for: dog brain tumor treatment · glioma in dogs · mRNA vaccine for dog cancer · how long can a dog live with glioma
Abstract
Malignant glioma is considered invariably recalcitrant, thus necessitating development of new therapeutic approaches. Spontaneously arising canine glioma exhibits important molecular and pathological similarities to malignant pediatric glioma, making it an invaluable model for testing novel therapies. We evaluated safety and activity of RNA lipid particle aggregates (LPAs) designed to provoke cancer immunogenicity in 10 dogs with histologically confirmed glioma. Vaccine manufacturing was feasible in all subjects and generally well tolerated. Median survival time was 123 and 155 days in dogs receiving three (Group A) or four (Group B) vaccines, respectively; this was increased from historical reporting of subjects receiving palliative care. Responding animals had a robust cytokine response following infusions. In animals receiving non-specific RNA-LPAs, there was localization of messenger RNA (mRNA) payloads to the brain tumor microenvironment and a rapid shift in immunologic gene signatures consistent with a viral response. These data demonstrate the ability to induce rapid viremic response in the tumor microenvironment following a single peripherally administered mRNA vaccine. Since RNA-LPAs are amenable to repeat boosts, these formulations may overcome challenges of tumor immunosuppression and therapeutic access and are currently under evaluation in first-in-human trials (NCT04573140, NCT06389591).
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41218853/