An mRNA vaccine delivered in hydrogel shows promise as a durable cancer immunotherapy

Before mRNA vaccines became valuable preventive tools against COVID-19, scientists around the world were studying the technology's potential use in cancer therapeutics, but their success has, so far, been limited.

Now, scientists at China’s National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) have designed a hydrogel to deliver an mRNA vaccine with an immune-stimulating adjuvant. When injected into mice with melanoma, the vaccine stayed active for at least 30 days, inhibiting tumor growth and preventing metastasis, according to results published in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters.