Study Finds mRNA COVID Vaccines Improve Survival for Cancer Patients

BERLIN, Germany — A new study suggests that mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations significantly improve survival rates for cancer patients who began immunotherapy within 100 days of receiving the vaccine. The findings were presented on October 19, 2025, at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

Researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center studied over 1,000 patients with advanced cancer, specifically stage 3 or 4 non–small-cell lung cancer and melanoma, treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors between 2019 and 2023.

Among the participants, 180 lung cancer patients received the COVID-19 vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy, while 704 did not. In the melanoma cohort, 43 patients were vaccinated, compared to 167 who were not. Results indicate that vaccinated lung cancer patients had a median survival increase from 26.7 months to between 30 and 40 months.

The study also highlighted how mRNA vaccines can enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors by triggering immune responses. “mRNA cancer vaccines sensitize tumors to immune checkpoint inhibitors in part by stimulating a surge in inflammatory cytokines,” the authors noted.

Statistical analysis showed a doubling of overall survival among lung cancer patients who received the vaccine compared to those who did not. The median overall survival was reported at 20.6 months for non-vaccinated patients versus 37.3 months for vaccinated individuals.

Adam Grippin, MD, PhD, the presenting author, stated, “The really exciting part of our work is that it points to the possibility that widely available, low-cost vaccines have the potential to dramatically improve the effectiveness of certain immune therapies.”

The study’s encouraging results may lead to broader implications if validated by further research, including an upcoming Phase III clinical trial.

Elias Sayour, MD, PhD, a pediatric oncologist at the University of Florida, underscored the transformative potential of these findings, suggesting that it “could revolutionize the entire field of oncologic care.”

The research identified that mRNA COVID vaccines could help patients with treatment-resistant disease by potentially improving survival rates not only for those with responsive tumors but also for those typically unresponsive to immunotherapy.