The Inquiry

Cancer is a disease that will affect 1 in 5 people in our lifetime, and it’s estimated that around 20 million people worldwide will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in 2025.But how might a vaccine help in the treatment of cancer?Numerous trials began testing the viability of cancer vaccines in 2024, including one for Melanoma and another for Lung Cancer. With all the promise that these new cancer vaccine trials bring for cancer patients, we explore the different ways in which vaccines could work within the body, and how the time at which future vaccines are administered may vary according to the cancers they are targeting.This week on the Inquiry we’re asking: Are we close to a cancer vaccine?Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Matt Toulson Researcher: Katie Morgan Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott Studio Director: Craig Boardman Contributors: Meredith McKean, director of Melanoma and Skin Cancer Research for Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Tennessee OncologySamra Turajlic, Chi