Experimental Off-the-Shelf Vaccine Shows Promise Against Pancreatic and Colorectal Cancer Recurrence

A ready-made cancer vaccine, ELI-002 2P, has shown encouraging early results in preventing the return of pancreatic and colorectal cancers, according to a study published in Nature Medicine. Unlike many personalised mRNA-based cancer vaccines, ELI-002 2P is non-personalised and already produced at scale, potentially making it cheaper, faster to deliver, and less toxic than some existing treatments.

The vaccine targets cancers driven by Kras gene mutations—present in around 90% of pancreatic and 50% of colorectal cancer cases. It works by training the body’s T-cells to recognise and attack cells producing altered Kras proteins.

In the trial, 25 patients who had undergone surgery (20 with pancreatic cancer and five with colorectal cancer) received the vaccine. After a median follow-up of 20 months, patients with a strong immune response to the jab experienced longer periods without cancer recurrence and better survival rates than those with weaker responses. Of the 17 strong responders, four died during the study period, compared with seven of the eight weaker responders.

While results are promising, researchers emphasise the study’s limitations—it was small, lacked a control group, and involved different cancer types. Experts say larger, randomised trials are essential to confirm efficacy.

If further research supports the findings, ELI-002 2P could be used alone or alongside other immunotherapies, potentially extending benefits to cancers beyond pancreatic and colorectal, such as Kras-driven lung cancers. However, specialists caution against over-optimism until robust clinical trials prove its long-term effectiveness.