Health
Cancer survival appears to double with common vaccine, researchers say
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A common vaccine could help to fight cancer, a new study suggests.
For cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy, researchers found that receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine within about 100 days of starting immune checkpoint therapy was associated with substantially better survival.
Researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center analyzed data from more than 1,000 cancer patients with Stage 3 and 4 non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic melanoma who were treated at MD Anderson from 2019 to 2023.
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All patients were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy drugs that help the immune system recognize and attack tumor cells more effectively.
Some of the patients received an mRNA COVID vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy and some did not, according to a study press release.
A common vaccine could help to fight cancer, a new study suggests. (iStock)
The researchers found that those who received both the vaccine and the immunotherapy lived longer “by a significant amount.”
Those who received the vaccine had nearly twice the average survival — 37.3 months compared to 20.6 months.
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The greatest survival benefit was seen in patients with immunologically “cold” tumors — those that are typically resistant to immunotherapy. Among those patients, the addition of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was linked to a nearly five-fold increase in three-year overall survival.
“At the time the data were collected, some patients were still alive, meaning the vaccine effect could be even stronger,” the release stated.
Researchers found that receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine within about 100 days of starting immune checkpoint therapy was associated with substantially better survival. (iStock)
The researchers then replicated this outcome in mouse models — when the mice received a combination of immunotherapy drugs and an mRNA vaccine targeting the COVID-19 spike protein, their tumors became more responsive to treatment.
“This is the type of treatment benefit that we strive for and hope to see with therapeutic interventions.”
Non-mRNA vaccines for flu and pneumonia did not have those same effects, the study found.
The findings were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2025 Congress in Berlin on Oct. 19 and were published in the journal Nature.
“The implications are extraordinary — this could revolutionize the entire field of oncologic care,” said senior researcher Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., a UF Health pediatric oncologist and the Stop Children’s Cancer/Bonnie R. Freeman Professor for Pediatric Oncology Research.
As this was an observational study, the researchers noted that a prospective and randomized clinical trial is needed to confirm the findings.
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“Although not yet proven to be causal, this is the type of treatment benefit that we strive for and hope to see with therapeutic interventions — but rarely do,” said Duane Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
“I think the urgency and importance of doing the confirmatory work can’t be overstated.”
All patients were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy drugs that help the immune system recognize and attack tumor cells more effectively. (iStock)
The researchers are now planning to launch a large clinical trial through the UF-led OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Network, a consortium of hospitals, health centers and clinics in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, California and Minnesota, the release stated.
The researchers suggested that a “universal, off-the-shelf” vaccine could be developed to boost cancer patients’ immune response and survival.
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“If this can double what we’re achieving currently, or even incrementally — 5%, 10% — that means a lot to those patients, especially if this can be leveraged across different cancers for different patients,” Sayour added.
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The study was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, the American Brain Tumor Association and the Radiological Society of North America, among others.
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Health
Most Americans are doing one nightly activity that’s wrecking their sleep, expert says
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If you’re not sleeping well, there could be a variety of reasons, but one habit stands out as the biggest culprit.
Dr. Wendy Troxel, a licensed clinical psychologist and senior behavioral scientist at RAND based in Utah, revealed that phone use at night is the activity that is most likely to have a negative effect on slumber.
“Most people are aware of this, but probably the No. 1 habit that’s contributing to interrupted sleep and poor-quality sleep in Americans is the use of phones at night, particularly in bed,” she said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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“About 90% of Americans are using their phones in bed, and as much as I would like to tell everybody to remove the phone entirely from the bedroom, I realize that ship has probably sailed by now.”
About 90% of Americans use their phones in bed, the sleep expert said. (iStock)
This disruption is driven by both blue light exposure and the stimulating content on phones, according to Troxel.
“There is blue light emitted from our devices, and blue light can suppress the hormone melatonin, which is the hormone of darkness.”
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“But it’s not just the blue light that is causing sleep disruptions from our phones. It’s really the stimulating content that we’re consuming … (on) social media, which is designed to be addictive, so that you can’t put that phone down,” she added.
The combination of blue light and stimulating content keeps the mind alert and interrupts quality sleep. (iStock)
This content is also “very emotionally activating,” Troxel noted, which is “antithetical to the state we want to be in as we approach sleep.”
To counteract attachment to phones, the sleep expert recommends setting a boundary with one simple rule.
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“I recommend that you try to keep your phone more than arms’ distance away from you while in bed,” she advised. “And set a rule for yourself. If you’re going to use the phone, don’t do it in bed. In fact, make your feet be on the floor if you’re going to use that phone.”
“I recommend that you try to keep your phone more than arms’ distance away from you while in bed,” the sleep expert recommended. (iStock)
Setting this boundary creates “behavioral friction,” according to Troxel.
“As a clinical psychologist, I work with people to help them … break habits that aren’t serving them,” she said. “Having that little bit of behavioral friction makes the habit of immediately grabbing for the phone and scrolling while in bed a little more difficult.
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“And when that automatic behavior is a little more difficult, it’s less likely to occur.”
Health
Giant golden spiders could spread this summer; experts downplay health risk
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Large, palm-sized spiders are spinning massive golden webs across porches and power lines, and, according to experts, they’re here to stay.
The Joro spider, which has a leg span up to 4 inches and markings of neon yellow, blue-black and red, was first recorded in Georgia in 2013.
Since its arrival — likely as a hitchhiker on a shipping container or an airplane from Asia, experts say — the arachnid has been steadily marching north.
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The spiders have so far been spotted in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
They are expected to spread throughout eastern North America, at least as far north as Pennsylvania and possibly further in warmer, coastal areas, according to Penn State.
Joro spiders can “fly” by shooting out silk parachutes that carry them on the wind. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
To travel, the spider uses a technique called “ballooning,” in which hatchlings release fine silk threads that catch air currents and carry them over long distances.
Ian Williams, an entomologist with Orkin, said he counted 200 adult spiders by September of last year on his one-acre property near Atlanta.
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“They’re quite intimidating looking spiders, and they make very large webs,” he told Fox News Digital. “The webbing itself, if it catches the sunlight, has a golden hue to it. And it’s very strong.”
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Despite the arachnid’s striking appearance, experts agree that people shouldn’t panic. Research shows the Joro is among the “shyest” spiders ever documented. When disturbed, they often sits motionless for over an hour rather than attacking.
Joro spiders like to spin their webs up high near houses, trees and even power lines, an expert said. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
“While they’re large spiders, they don’t have large fangs. And, so, it’s difficult for them to bite humans,” Williams noted.
Even in the rare event of a nip, the expert said the venom is weak, comparable to a localized bee sting, and carries “no medical importance.”
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As an invasive species, the Joro’s impact is still being weighed by scientists.
“One of the big concerns is that they potentially out-compete native species of spiders,” Williams said.
Physical removal is more efficient than pesticides, according to an expert. (iStock)
A prolific hunter, the Joro spider catches everything from mosquitoes to large, meaty insects like cicadas. It is unclear whether it steals food from native garden spiders.
To prevent Joro spiders from nesting on your porch or property, experts recommend using a broom or long pole to knock the web down.
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“Spiders may get the message, ‘Hey, I’m not going to keep remaking my same web in the same area,’” Williams said.
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Physical removal is more effective than pesticides, which often miss the spiders in their high, open-air webs.
For those who spot a Joro spider in a new area, experts suggest logging the sighting on apps like iNaturalist to help researchers track their northern migration.
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