First personalised cancer vaccine cuts risk of disease returning in major trial
A clinical trial involving 1,100 melanoma patients found that a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, combined with immunotherapy, reduced the risk of cancer recurrence or death by 42%. Experts view this as a significant advancement in personalized oncology.
Why it matters
This represents a major breakthrough in using mRNA technology to create targeted cancer treatments, potentially transforming patient outcomes.
Image source, Addenbrooke's Hospital Image caption, Tony Chapman, 75, from Corby in the East Midlands was one of the 1,100 melanoma patients enrolled on the vaccine trial
A new personalised cancer vaccine given alongside a widely used immunotherapy drug has cut the risk of patients dying or their skin cancer returning by 42% in a major clinical trial.
The researchers involved say the results could mark a turning point in cancer treatment, bringing personalised medicine a step closer.
The trial, involving more than 1,100 patients, also found that the new drug combination reduced the risk of melanoma, a type of skin cancer, spreading by 38% over two years.
The drug manufacturers MSD and Moderna say the same approach is already being tested against other tumours, including kidney, bladder and lung cancer.
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