mRNA vaccine reduces melanoma recurrence
A personalised jab alongside existing immunotherapy reduced the risk of high-risk melanoma returning in a late-stage clinical trial.
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A personalised mRNA vaccine reduced the risk of melanoma returning after surgery. This was shown by results from an international study made public on Thursday by Moderna and Merck.
The vaccine, called intismeran, is tailored for each patient based on mutations in their tumour. The jab was studied as an addition to pembrolizumab, an existing immunotherapy given after surgery to patients at high risk of melanoma returning.
More than 1,100 people took part in the study, all of whom had had high-risk melanoma surgically removed. All participants received pembrolizumab as well as either nine personalised vaccine doses or a placebo. The doses were administered at three-week intervals.
After two years, 82 per cent of participants in the vaccine group were living without a recurrence of the disease, compared with 70 per cent in the group that received pembrolizumab alone. According to the researchers, this amounts to a 42 per cent lower risk of melanoma returning in the vaccine group.
The study is a phase 3 trial, the final major testing phase before a drug may be submitted for approval. The results will be discussed in greater detail this weekend at the European Society for Medical Oncology congress in Madrid. The figures made public became available earlier than planned.
The study does not yet show how long the effect lasts. AP reports that the participants are being followed for longer and that the manufacturers are still in discussions with regulators about a possible application for approval. According to AP, it is also not yet known what such a treatment, individually made for each patient, would cost.
According to the researchers, the reported side effects were mainly fatigue, a sore arm and other reactions also seen with mRNA coronavirus vaccines. The outcome applies to the group of people with high-risk melanoma studied and does not mean that the vaccine is already available to all patients with skin cancer.
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The key figures, trial phase and timing of the announcement can be substantiated by AP and ESMO’s oncology information. The text makes clear that these are research findings and that approval and the long-term effect have not yet been established.
- confirmed The personalised mRNA vaccine reduced the risk of melanoma returning by 42 per cent after two years. — AP reports this percentage based on the released phase 3 results. source
- confirmed After two years, 82 per cent of the vaccine group remained free of recurrence, compared with 70 per cent with pembrolizumab alone. — The two-year outcomes are reported in AP’s coverage. source
- confirmed The study was a phase 3 trial with more than 1,100 participants. — AP describes the study design and size. source
- confirmed The full results will be discussed at the ESMO congress in Madrid. — AP mentions the planned scientific presentation; ESMO publishes information about the congress and the subject. source
Editor's note
The reduction in risk and the two-year figures come from the released phase 3 results. The full scientific presentation is still to come; the long-term effect, approval and price remain uncertain.Sources
- A cancer treatment using mRNA succeeded in a late-state trial — Associated Press
- Moderna cancer vaccine stops melanoma returning: what’s next for personalized treatments? — Nature
- Cancer vaccines and the next frontier in melanoma: From headlines to scientific evidence — European Society for Medical Oncology
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „melanoom huidkanker”
- AD — „melanoom huidkanker”
- de Volkskrant — „melanoom huidkanker”