Results from a trial of an mRNA vaccine for pancreatic cancer have shown that the vaccine reduces the chance of the cancer recurring in patients who initially respond.

There is new hope in the fight against pancreatic cancer after early trials showed that personalized mRNA vaccines can target and reduce malignant tumors. NBC News medical contributor Dr. Kavita Patel reports on the vaccine’s success against pancreatic cancer,

The mRNA vaccine works by targeting genetic mutations found in pancreatic cancer, alerting the immune system to recognize and attack the tumor. During surgery, doctors removed each patient’s tumor and sent it to the German biotechnology company BioNTech.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center researchers have found RNA neoantigen vaccines that generate long-lived, functional CD8+ T cells in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), potentially delaying disease recurrence.

In a small trial, nearly half of pancreatic cancer patients who received an mRNA vaccine for the disease had no relapse three years later.

Clinical studies suggest that the mRNA vaccine may play a role in treating pancreatic cancer, identified as one of the most lethal cancers, according to a report in "Nature." Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest,