Melanoma Vaccine Cuts Risk Significantly

A new approach to fighting skin cancer is showing real promise in trials.

Pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck have announced that a personalized mRNA vaccine for melanoma significantly reduced the risk of death or recurrence in late-stage trials. In a study involving 1,137 patients with stage IIB, IV melanoma that had been surgically removed, the vaccine combination lowered that risk by 42 percent compared to standard treatment. The trial compared a combination of the personalized vaccine and Merck's established treatment, Keytruda, against Keytruda alone. Patients were randomly assigned to either group.

The development of these kinds of cancer-fighting vaccines began earlier in the pandemic. The success of mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines provided a foundation for exploring its use in other areas of medicine, including oncology. The goal is to create a vaccine uniquely matched to a specific patient's tumor to help the body's immune system target it. Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement, "From the beginning, we believed mRNA technology could make it possible to develop cancer treatments uniquely matched to each patient's tumor." The results "mark a defining moment for that vision and show what's possible when we rethink how medicines are made," he said.

The companies had previously announced in August that the trial was successful but did not provide specific figures. They had planned to release the details this past Saturday at a conference in Madrid, Spain. However, after an oncology news site reported the results early, the companies released the top-line figures. The complete set of data has been accepted for publication in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This latest data is a significant advance in melanoma treatment. It bolsters hope that mRNA vaccines and individualized cancer-targeting medicines represent a new direction for cancer therapies. Moderna and Merck are now engaging with regulatory authorities to seek approval for the vaccine. The full data will be presented at a scientific conference.

The next step for the companies is to work with regulators on getting the vaccine approved for use. The full trial data is scheduled for presentation at an upcoming scientific conference in Madrid.