From mRNA vaccines to radiopharmaceuticals, a new generation of technologies is set to redefine how cancer is detected, treated, and managed—creating fresh opportunities for healthcare organizations across the care continuum.
More than 20 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and almost 10 million globally will lose their lives to the disease—a daunting reality. But as the numbers rise, so too does a new kind of hope. Advances like the HPV vaccine, CAR-T therapy, and new stem cell techniques have cracked open possibilities unthinkable a decade ago, lowering cancer risk and shifting survival curves.
As these advances improve patient outcomes, the next leap forward in cancer treatment is already taking shape. Among the innovations to watch in the year ahead are mRNA vaccines, whose success against COVID-19 has opened the door to a potential universal cancer vaccine; radiopharmaceuticals, which promise to deliver radiation with surgical accuracy; and liquid biopsies, offering faster, less invasive detection and real-time disease monitoring.
The task ahead isn’t only to prove these diagnostics and therapies work, but to ensure they can be manufactured, distributed, and ultimately, made accessible to all who need them.
Liquid biopsies will change how cancer is found
Early detection is the linchpin of effective cancer care, identifying disease at a stage where treatment can be more precise and potentially curative. Traditional biopsies, however, have long been a bottleneck—painful, invasive, and often slow.
Liquid biopsy changes that equation. With a simple blood draw, clinicians can detect circulating tumor DNA, monitor disease progression, and even spot recurrence before it shows up on a scan. For patients, it means earlier answers. For clinicians, it means a faster path to treatment decisions.
MSK-ACCESS, developed by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, exemplifies this approach. The test analyzes 146 key cancer-associated genes from cell-free DNA in blood or other body fluids, allowing clinicians to profile tumors noninvasively and monitor disease progression over time. Since its clinical approval in 2019, more than 10,000 patients have undergone testing.
As liquid biopsy technologies evolve, new entrants can differentiate themselves by providing greater sensitivity, richer molecular information, or accelerating turnaround times. This opens opportunities for startups and mid-sized players to carve out niches in specialized indications or patient populations.
Forecasting cancer risk and response with AI
Layer artificial intelligence on top, and the possibilities around cancer diagnostics multiply. Algorithms trained on imaging archives, genomic datasets, and clinical outcomes are beginning to predict which patients are most at risk or which therapies are likely to work.
For instance, GE HealthCare and Vanderbilt University Medical Center validated AI models that use routinely collected clinical data from cancer patients—electronic medical records, diagnosis codes, and medication histories—to predict immunotherapy response with roughly 70–80% accuracy across a range of different cancers. And Stanford Medicine researchers developed a multimodal model called MUSK that combines imaging and clinical notes to more accurately forecast prognosis, therapy response, and likely recurrence in melanoma.
The implications of these new diagnostic methods are profound: cancer care could shift from reactive to anticipatory. Instead of waiting for a tumor to declare itself, these tools can look for patterns that signal disease before or as soon as symptoms appear.
For diagnosticians, these innovations could lead to earlier interventions and better patient outcomes. The ability to identify high-risk patients sooner, tailor treatments more effectively, and monitor response in real time could also reshape everything from investment priorities and partnerships to care delivery models across the oncology landscape.
mRNA therapies move toward a universal cancer vaccine
Most exciting of all are emerging developments in treating cancer. mRNA vaccines have been on oncology’s radar for over two decades, but COVID-19 catapulted the platform into the global spotlight. Moderna and BioNTech–Pfizer proved mRNA vaccines could be manufactured at scale and save millions of lives, while also generating billions in commercial value. Its global success has spurred investment, attracted top talent, and renewed confidence in mRNA’s potential beyond infectious disease, opening the door to a new era of cancer treatments.
That momentum is already translating into a robust clinical pipeline of tumor-specific vaccines. Companies like Moderna, Merck, and BioNTech have advanced personalized mRNA cancer vaccines, such as mRNA-4157/V940 and BNT122, into mid- and late-stage human trials for melanoma, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer. These therapies, already showing early promise in studies, target a patient’s unique tumor mutations. Now, researchers are pushing the boundaries even further, exploring a new frontier: a universal, “off-the-shelf” cancer vaccine.
In a pre-clinical study from the University of Florida, an experimental mRNA vaccine, when paired with immune checkpoint inhibitors, triggered a strong anti-tumor response in laboratory mice, spurring the immune system to respond as if fighting a virus. These findings suggest the potential for a “generalized” mRNA vaccine that can engage a patient’s own immune system to target a broader spectrum of cancers. It’s now in early human trials.
If successful, these mRNA vaccines could move oncology treatment away from long, multi-step regimens involving surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. In the near-term, progress will come from more targeted, tumor-specific products currently in mid-stage trials. Looking ahead, the ultimate goal is a universal cancer vaccine—a breakthrough that could redefine both treatment protocols and transform the economics of oncology.
Timeline of key mRNA milestones
- 1961: Discovery of mRNA
- 1969: In vitro translation of isolated mRNA
- 1978: Liposome-entrapped mRNA delivery
- 1983: Cap analogue commercialized
- 1989: Naked mRNA is translated in vivo by direct injection
- 1995: Using mRNAs for cancer immunotherapy
- 1999: Antitumor T cell response induced by mRNA
- 2002: First clinical trial with mRNA using ex vivo transfected DCs
- 2009: mRNA-based immunotherapy for human cancer
- 2010: Preclinical study with intranodally injected mRNA
- 2012: Protective mRNAs vaccination in influenza and RSV
- 2013: CRISPR-Cas9 mRNA for gene editing
- 2017: Personalized mRNA cancer vaccine for clinical trials
- 2019: Clinical trials of mRNA vaccines for cancer and infectious disease
- 2020: mRNA-1273 and BNT162b emergency use for SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
- 2022: mRNA-based therapeutics
- 2023: 43 COVID-19 mRNA vaccines were in clinical trials
Radiopharmaceuticals gain traction as precision oncology tools
Radiopharmaceuticals are also a promising frontier in oncology, offering a precision-driven approach to treatment. The concept is deceptively simple: attach a radioactive isotope to a targeting molecule that seeks out cancer cells with high specificity. By delivering radiation directly to tumors, these therapies minimize collateral damage to healthy tissues. Their dual capacity for imaging and therapy also allows clinicians to track treatment in real time, adjusting dosing for optimal impact.
Though radiopharmaceuticals have been studied for decades, recent technological advances and the blockbuster success of therapies like Novartis’ Pluvicto and Lutathera have sparked renewed industry interest. According to Nature , 67 radiopharmaceuticals are currently approved worldwide, of which 54 are used for disease diagnosis and 13 for therapy.
Approved radiopharmaceuticals in use
