Today, the scientific community is actively discussing an experimental mRNA-based cancer vaccine developed at the University of Florida. It’s important to emphasize: this is not a preventive vaccine like those used against COVID‑19. Rather, it is a therapeutic tool designed to train the immune system to recognize and destroy tumor cells, turning the body’s natural defense mechanisms into a weapon against disease. In other words, while the underlying principle is similar, this vaccine treats cancer instead of preventing its onset.
To better understand how these technologies are transforming oncology, we spoke with Dr. Konstantin Kenigsberg, oncoradiologist and nuclear medicine physician at Carmel Medical Center, and Israel’s representative at the European Society of Oncologic Imaging (ESOI).
According to Dr. Kenigsberg, mRNA vaccines work on the same principle as Moderna and Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccines:
“mRNA carries instructions for synthesizing proteins characteristic of tumor cells. The immune system learns to ‘see’ the tumor and respond to it.”
Initial results from animal studies show that, when combined with immunotherapy, such vaccines can significantly shrink or even completely eliminate certain tumors. However, Dr. Kenigsberg notes that bringing this approach into clinical practice will still require several more years and large-scale trials.
At the same time, oncology is already using approaches that have radically changed patient outcomes.
“Immunotherapy and drugs like Keytruda lift the ‘brakes’ off the immune system, enabling it to attack tumors. This has been a game‑changer in treating melanoma, lung cancer, and several other types of cancer,” says Dr. Kenigsberg.
Particular attention is being drawn to Theranostics — a term that combines “therapy” and “diagnostics.” Dr. Kenigsberg explains how it works in oncology:
“We take a radiopharmaceutical and use it for diagnostic imaging. We observe that certain tumors and metastases show high activity, meaning they accumulate the radiopharmaceutical in large amounts. Then, using that same molecule, we replace its isotope with an alpha‑ or beta‑emitter, creating a highly active substance, which we administer therapeutically. What happens? The molecule delivers the alpha‑ or beta‑emitter directly into the tumor cells, destroying the cancer from within while minimizing damage to surrounding tissues.”
All these technologies bring us closer to a new era of oncology — one where treatment is personalized and patient outcomes are far more predictable. Theranostics and mRNA vaccines are not just innovations; they are real steps toward a future where a cancer diagnosis is no longer a sentence, but the starting point for precise and effective therapy.