{
  "id": 16195427,
  "title": "Personalised cancer vaccine expected to be approved next year",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/personalised-cancer-vaccine-expected-to-be-approved-next-year",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-23T14:42:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Scientist",
    "slug": "new-scientist",
    "url": "https://www.newscientist.com/article/2595599-personalised-cancer-vaccine-expected-to-be-approved-next-year/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A personalised mRNA vaccine for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is anticipated to receive approval for use in the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom within the next year. The vaccine aims to trigger immune responses against individual genetic mutations present in one's cancer. In a late-stage trial, when used alongside standard treatment, it significantly reduced the likelihood of cancer recurrence or death within the next two years.\n\nAlan Melcher, from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, believes the approval process could be swift, with next year being a reasonable estimate. Rebecca Lee from the University of Manchester concurs, stating that the vaccine could provide substantial benefits for thousands of people in the UK alone, based on the trial's patient population.\n\nThe trial, conducted in August, involved over 1100 adults who had surgery to remove high-risk melanomas with a high likelihood of recurrence or distant spread. Out of the participants, two-thirds received a personalized vaccine in addition to standard immunotherapy (pembrolizumab), administered every three weeks for up to a year. The remaining participants received placebo injections alongside pembrolizumab.\n\nThe vaccine is created by sequencing a small sample of a person's cancer and comparing it with their healthy blood cells, enabling researchers to identify mutations unique to the cancer. With the same technology used in COVID-19 vaccines, the cancer vaccine contains mRNA molecules encoding proteins associated with up to 34 of those mutations.\n\nBased on the trial's findings, 82% of participants who received the vaccine plus pembrolizumab were alive without cancer recurrence, on average, two years after treatment initiation, compared to 70% among those on pembrolizumab alone. This result is considered highly promising, with side effects being similar between the two groups. However, since the participants have not been tracked long enough to determine if the vaccine improves overall survival rates, this metric should primarily reflect its ability to reduce recurrence.",
  "summary": "A bespoke vaccine that is tailored to target an individual's unique skin cancer reduced rates of recurrence or death in a late-stage trial, making an approval expected",
  "key_points": [
    "Personalized mRNA vaccine for melanoma expected to receive US/EU/UK approval next year.",
    "Late-stage trial showed vaccine reduced cancer recurrence or death risk by 12%.",
    "Vaccine created using patient's cancer sample and healthy blood cells to identify unique mutations."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Integrating personalized mRNA technology with immunotherapy offers a new way to target individual genetic mutations, potentially shifting melanoma treatment from general care toward highly specific, patient-tailored preventative medicine.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}