A broader ambition at Moderna: to push the boundaries of what is thought to be possible in medicine. Understandably, much of modern oncology has focused on treating cancer once it occurs. At Moderna, our oncology research to date has similarly focused on helping the immune system recognize and attack tumors that already exist. Now, we’re venturing into the preventative arena — can mRNA technology be applied to not only treat cancer after its diagnosis, but also to prevent cells from being a cancer growth, particularly for high-risk individuals?
mRNA technology works by instructing cells to produce specific proteins that can train the immune system to recognize and respond to disease. In the case of Lynch syndrome and mRNA-4194, we are investigating whether similar principles could train the immune system, specifically T cells, to detect and eliminate cells that carry these abnormal mutations before they grow into tumours.
We are just at the beginning of this journey, and there will be important insights along the way, deepening our understanding of Lynch syndrome and the potential of mRNA technology to address this high unmet need.
The INTERCEPT-Lynch Phase 1/2 trial is actively dosing participants with the investigational mRNA vaccine mRNA-4194 to prevent cancer in people with Lynch syndrome
https://www.modernatx.com/media-center/all-media/blogs/potential-mRNA-cancer-prevention
https://www.oncology.ox.ac.uk/research/clinical-trials/octo/trials/intercept_lynch
