Rx4Prevention

06/05/2026

On this Science Friday post, let's look at medicine’s new duo to battle melanoma.

While it’s too soon to celebrate, the outlook for vaccine-based treatment of melanoma has improved. A new study from New York University found that a personalized vaccine combined with an immunotherapy drug can effectively target skin cancer cells.

In fact, this treatment combination cut the risk of melanoma returning by nearly 50 percent.

The new vaccine, intismeran, is a personalized immunotherapy made using information from the patient’s own tumor. It is given alongside the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, better known by its brand name, Keytruda.

Keytruda helps stop cancer cells from hiding from a person’s immune system.

The best news? “Our findings serve as encouragement to cancer researchers that mRNA vaccines could work well in combination with immunotherapy for other cancers whose high rates of mutations have proven difficult to target,” said the research team.

Already, intismeran is being tested to see if it also works to prevent recurrence of lung and other cancers. This progress gives cancer patients real reason for optimism.

06/04/2026

https://www.wifr.com/video/2026/06/04/uw-health-celebrates-20th-anniversary-creation-hpv-vaccine/

UW Health celebrates 20th anniversary of creation of HPV vaccine

05/29/2026

Today's Science Friday explores the rise of zoonotic virus infections.

Zoonotic virus spillovers—infections that spread from animals to humans—keep emerging with troubling regularity. In fact, the largest epidemics in the past two decades originate from creatures such as bats or rodents: SARS, COVID-19, Ebola, and hantavirus.

“The message is clear,” declares Dr. Peter Hotez, an internationally recognized pediatrician and advocate for global public health. “This is our new normal every year, every other year, (or) every three years, we should expect to see a major zoonotic spillover event and a serious epidemic.”

Although researchers can’t pinpoint the exact cause of the rise in zoonotic viruses, two leading inter-related explanations emerge.

First, climate change: As habitats become warmer and less predictable, animal hosts range farther in search of their food and safe shelter.

Second, rapid population growth creates megacities of up to 20 million people, pushing human development deeper into animal habitations.

For vaccine researchers, these trends push the focus to develop preventative immunizations that are broadly protective across species and can be scaled quickly.
We applaud their endeavors.

05/23/2026

It's another Science Friday at Rx4Prevention. Today, we're looking at a new study about the safety of HPV vaccines.

The new study’s magnitude is as big as they come. After combing through hundreds of research inquiries, investigators from the UK have concluded HPV vaccines are incredibly safe.

A scientific team from Britain reviewed 225 studies that included 132 million people. Among the separate investigations, most (177) reported on women, 11 focused just on men, and 37 included both men and women.

“There are no negative long-term health impacts associated with HPV vaccination,” reported the lead for the Cancer Prevention and Early Detection research theme at the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. “Many millions of people have now been vaccinated with the HPV vaccine, and we have not seen any safety issues.”

Digging down through details, investigators found no links between HPV vaccination and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, paralysis, complex regional pain syndrome, premature ovarian failure, infertility, or sexual activity, based on moderate-certainty evidence.

Even so, researchers pledge to continue monitoring HPV vaccine outcomes because it has been in use for only 20 years. Ongoing research will examine long-term effects and continue to refine dosing, recommended ages, and vaccination schedules.

05/19/2026

Happy birthday to Rx4Prevention's Erica! She is the (big) brains behind the scenes that keeps Rx4P running smoothly.

Have a fabulous day, Erica. We so appreciate you!

05/15/2026

It’s the stuff made of nightmares: you’re enjoying a long-awaited vacation, only to learn of an outbreak of a little-known virus on the cruise ship. To make things worse, the virus originates from rat and mice urine and f***s (ick). Oh, and you and your fellow passengers will be quarantined for a while to contain the sickness.

The recent outbreak of hantavirus aboard the ship, MV Hondius, drew attention to the rare but deadly infection and the lack of a preventative vaccine.

That doesn’t mean scientists have stopped working on a vaccine, however. In fact, military research groups have spent decades developing a hantavirus vaccine to protect ground troops.

Researchers face big challenges, though. Zoonotic viruses —animal-borne viruses that spill into humans — are unpredictable. Because cases of hantavirus in humans are rare and geographically scattered, clinical trials are logistically tough to conduct. Another issue: the DNA hantavirus vaccine currently under study requires a series of three shots.

Finally, funding required research for a hantavirus vaccine is limited because the potential market is small, making it commercially less appealing to commercial developers.

05/15/2026

Happy 230th birthday of the first successful smallpox vaccine! That moment in history led to great leaps of knowledge in immunology. Let's celebrate with CAKE.

05/14/2026

Vaccines are our best tool for preventing infectious disease. Period.