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Cancer Vaccine Breakthrough 'a Monumental Leap Forward'
Merck and Moderna said the vaccine helped prevent melanoma recurrence, a result researchers called a major step toward treating multiple tumor types.
- On Wednesday, Merck and Moderna announced their personalized vaccine helped prevent disease recurrence in a trial of more than 1,000 melanoma patients with surgically removed tumors at high risk of returning.
- The treatment combines up to nine doses of Merck's immunotherapy drug Keytruda, infused every six weeks, with a customized mRNA vaccine. Unlike chemotherapy, this approach trains the immune system to target specific tumor mutations.
- Five-Year data from a previous mid-stage trial presented in June showed the vaccine reduced the risk of cancer spreading to new locations by 59% compared with Keytruda alone. This validates the combination's efficacy for high-risk patients.
- Dr. Elizabeth Buchbinder, a melanoma specialist at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, said the vaccine's added benefit "may change that math" for patients with only a 20% risk of recurrence. Doctors typically weigh treatment benefits against side effects.
- Moderna President Stephen Hoge told Reuters the companies are studying the combination in trials for bladder, kidney, pancreatic, and stomach cancers, with numerous results expected in the next year or two. This positions mRNA technology as a transformative cancer treatment.
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12 Articles
12 Articles
Personalized mRNA immunizer keeps melanoma under control and opens new way to treat other types of tumors
·São Paulo, Brazil
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Total News Sources12
Leaning Left6Leaning Right0Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution55% Left
Bias Distribution
- 55% of the sources lean Left
55% Left
L 55%
C 45%
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