Personalised mRNA cancer vaccine cuts melanoma recurrence risk in trial
BBC reports a personalised mRNA vaccine with immunotherapy cut melanoma death or recurrence risk by 42% in a 1,137-patient trial; results await peer review.
The story in focus
BBC News reports that a personalised mRNA cancer vaccine, given with the immunotherapy drug Keytruda, cut the risk of dying or melanoma returning by 42% in a 1,137-patient trial. The combination also reduced spread risk by 38% over two years versus immunotherapy alone. Results await peer review.
- BBC reports the vaccine-plus-Keytruda arm showed a 42% lower risk of death or melanoma recurrence than immunotherapy alone.
- Spread risk fell 38% over two years in the trial, which enrolled 1,137 adults whose tumours had been surgically removed.
- Independent experts called the results impressive but said longer follow-up is needed to confirm overall survival benefit.
What the trial found
BBC News reports that adding an experimental personalised vaccine to the established immunotherapy drug Keytruda cut the risk of patients dying or their melanoma returning by 42%. The trial enrolled 1,137 adults whose tumours had already been removed by surgery; about two-thirds received the vaccine, called Intismeran, and the rest a placebo.
The same comparison showed a 38% lower risk of the skin cancer spreading over two years, according to the BBC. The vaccine uses mRNA technology, like some Covid jabs, and is built from each patient's own tumour information to train the immune system against returning cancer cells.
Caveats and next steps
Independent cancer experts told the BBC the results were impressive but stressed that longer-term studies are needed to establish whether the treatment helps most patients live longer on average. Prof Alan Melcher of the Institute of Cancer Research, who was not involved, said the work is an important proof of principle but that one melanoma trial cannot be assumed to apply across all cancers.
The full results are due to be presented at a cancer conference in Madrid on Saturday and have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Manufacturers MSD and Moderna say the approach is being tested in kidney, bladder and lung cancer, and both companies say they are engaging with authorities, suggesting regulatory filing could come as soon as next year, the BBC reports. Widespread NHS use would depend on cost.
Why do experts say the melanoma vaccine results are not yet definitive?
The trial has not been peer reviewed, full data are only now being presented, and longer follow-up is needed to show whether the treatment improves overall survival and applies beyond melanoma, experts told the BBC.
Sources & further reading
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