Personalized vaccine helped melanoma patients stay cancer-free longer, drugmakers say
An experimental vaccine kept melanoma from returning or spreading in people at high risk of the skin cancer recurring, drugmakers Moderna and Merck announced Wednesday.
Personalized mRNA vaccine intismeran, developed by drugmakers Moderna and Merck, has shown promising results in a late-stage trial involving 1,137 high-risk melanoma patients. The vaccine, which is custom-made for each patient based on the genetics of their tumor, was administered alongside the immunotherapy drug Keytruda. The trial found that patients who received intismeran along with Keytruda were less likely to have their cancer return or spread compared to those who received Keytruda alone, according to The New York Times.
Although the pharmaceutical companies have not disclosed the exact risk reduction percentage, the findings are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. If successful, this personalized vaccine approach could pave the way for new cancer treatments, including trials for lung, bladder, kidney, and pancreatic cancers.
Melanoma, a deadly skin cancer, is expected to affect 112,000 people in the United States this year, with over 8,500 deaths, emphasizing the urgent need for effective therapies.
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