Cancer Vaccines: The Future is Now

Behind The Knife: The Surgery Podcast

Education, Science, Health & Fitness, Medicine

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As cancer vaccines move into Phase II and III clinical trials, it is
increasingly important for surgeons to understand their role in this
evolving landscape. What exactly are these vaccines, how do they work,
and what should the surgical community know about their
implementation? Join BTK surgical education fellows Kara Button and
Michelle LaBella as they sit down with Professor Robert Jones to break
down the science of mRNA vaccines, the logistics of tissue
procurement, and the future of cancer care.

Hosts:

- Professor Robert Jones: Consultant Liver Surgeon, Liverpool University
Hospitals; UK National Institute for Healthcare Research, Co-Lead for
the Cancer Vaccine Innovation Pathway, Bowel Cancer UK and Royal
College of Surgeons UK Lead for Research into Advanced Bowel Cancer,
and UK Chief Investigator for the BNT122-01 trial.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-jones-6103722a/

- Kara Button, DO: General Surgery Resident, Maine Medical Center;
Behind the Knife Surgical Education Fellow.

- Michelle LaBella, MD: General Surgery Resident; University of North
Carolina; Behind the Knife Surgical Education Fellow.

References:

https://clinicaltrials.biontech.com/trials/BNT122-01

Jones RP, Lee LYW, Corrie PG, et al. Individualized cancer vaccines
versus surveillance after adjuvant chemotherapy for surgically
resected high-risk stage 2 and stage 3 colorectal cancer: protocol for
a randomized trial. BJS. 2023;110(12):1883-1884.
doi:10.1093/bjs/znad332
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37856683/

Tie J, Wang Y, Loree JM, et al. Circulating tumor DNA-guided adjuvant
therapy in locally advanced colon cancer: the randomized phase 2/3
DYNAMIC-III trial. Nat Med. 2025;31(12):4291-4300.
doi:10.1038/s41591-025-04030-w
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41115959/

Rojas LA, Sethna Z, Soares KC, et al. Personalized RNA neoantigen
vaccines stimulate T cells in pancreatic cancer. Nature.
2023;618(7963):144-150. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06063-y
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37165196/

https://www.cancer.ox.ac.uk/research/lynchvax#:~:text=The%20LynchVax%20program%2C%20funded%20by,individuals%20with%20this%20genetic%20condition

Transcript

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0:00.0	Behind the Night, The Sury
0:11.0	The Surgery Podcast, relevant and engaging content designed to help you dominate the day. Thank you. Thanks for listening to Behind the Knife. This is Jason here. If you're prepping for the complex
0:37.5	general surgical oncology boards or just looking to level up your surge oncology game,
0:41.7	you need to check out our surgical oncology board review. This isn't some lame review
0:45.8	with just flashcards and outlines. We've created comprehensive high-yield scenarios
0:50.3	covering the most tested diseases, plus expert expert commentary and updated guidelines that actually
0:55.7	stick and are proven to help you pass the boards. Breast, pancreas, sarcoma, you name it,
1:00.6	we've got you covered. We're also thrilled to announce that access to our highly anticipated
1:04.4	oral board simulators included with your purchase. Build real-world confidence by practicing
1:09.0	responses out loud against high-yield,
1:11.0	high-pressure clinical scenarios.
1:13.0	Available on our app so you can review anytime, anywhere.
1:16.6	Group discounts are available.
1:18.6	Enjoy the episode and dominate the day.
1:21.6	Hi, everyone. I'm Kara Button.
1:23.8	And I'm Michelle O'Bella.
1:25.3	For General Surgery Residence and Behind the Knife Surgical education fellows, we're excited to bring you today's episode about cancer vaccines, what they are, how they work, and what surgeons should know about them.
1:36.3	To help us explore this topic, we're joined by Professor Robert Jones, a liver surgeon at Liverpool University Hospitals.
1:43.0	He's the UK National Institute for Healthcare
1:45.1	Research co-lead for the Cancer Vaccine Innovation Pathway and the bowel cancer UK and Royal College
1:51.0	of Surgeons UK lead for research into advanced bowel cancer. He is also the UK chief investigator
1:57.2	for BNT 1202 clinical trial assessing the efficacy of a personalized
	...

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