What are cancer 'vaccines' and will they revolutionise treatment?

What are cancer 'vaccines' and will they revolutionise treatment?

September 5, 2026 · 33 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the potential of mRNA-based cancer vaccines in revolutionizing cancer treatment and their implications in India.

There’s been a lot of excitement in the cancer research field recently. Preliminary results from a trial with patients who had melanoma or skin cancer, showed that a ‘cancer vaccine’ had been successful in reducing the recurrence of melanoma tumours. This vaccine, called instamaren autogene, is based on mRNA technology – the same tech that was used to manufacture Covid vaccines during the pandemic. A number of other trials across the world are also looking into how mRNA vaccines can help prevent the recurrence of certain hard-to-treat cancers. So what are these new therapies and what cancer do they treat? Why are they called vaccines when they don’t actually prevent cancer? How does mRNA tech work and how is AI helpful in this? Will these personalised treatments be available in India any time soon and how expensive will they be? Guest: Dr. Narayana Subramaniam, Lead Consultant, Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, Aster Hospitals, and Adjunct Faculty at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Guest: Dr. Narayana Subramaniam

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Aster Hospitals, Indian Institute of Science

Products: instamaren autogene

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