The effect surprised me. The impact is large. The patients have Stage 4 (metastatic) lung cancer and melanoma which are very dangerous.
The Covid mRNA vaccine sensitizes the immune system to chemotherapy that is based on immune response (“immune checkpoint inhibitors” such as Keytruda).
Retrospective data in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) found that mRNA COVID vaccination within 100 days of initiating a checkpoint inhibitor was associated with higher 3-year survival rates compared with no vaccination (55.8% vs 30.6%; adjusted HR 0.51).
Analyses in metastatic melanoma mirrored the results, with 3-year survival rates of 67.5% and 44.1%, respectively (adjusted HR 0.34).
The first thing to notice is the low 3-year survival rate even with the immune checkpoint inhibitor. (Without it the prognosis is much worse.)
The second thing to notice is the dramatic improvement with a Covid shot which induces a surge in type I interferon-dependent immunity – priming T cells to infiltrate tumors. It seems to be a non-specific way to kick-start the immune system so the chemo works better.
Covid shots are cheap and widely available. This would be a tremendous boon for the hundreds of thousands of patients who are suffering from Stage 4 metastatic cancer.
Lung cancer leads cancer fatalities in the U.S. – 125,000 representing 20% of all cancer fatalities. Roughly three times the number of breast cancer fatalities.
Wendy