Doggybones, DNA vaccines and skin-penetrating fluids: whatever it takes to win the fight against cancer

Abstract

Nucleic acid-based vaccines have risen in popularity following the success of mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Growing research in response to the pandemic has now seen DNA vaccines enter the stage, with phase III trials currently underway in India. As with mRNA vaccines, DNA vaccines can be made to encode protein or peptides that are thought to be expressed on the surface of pathogens and infected and cancerous cells. With over 17 million people reported to be diagnosed with a cancer worldwide in 2018, cancer continues to impose a very real threat. Although conventional treatments such as chemotherapy have reduced mortality, cancerous cells often evolve, adapting mechanisms that help them survive and evade immune recognition. DNA vaccines present an immunotherapeutic tool that addresses this issue by improving the visibility of cancer cells. Here we discuss the role of DNA vaccines in a dynamic arms race against cancer.