THIS ONE IS PERSONAL! A cancer vaccine tailored to each patient, given alongside the immunotherapy drug Keytruda, cut the risk of patients dying or their skin cancer coming back by 42% in a major clinical trial, the BBC reported.
The trial enrolled 1,137 adults with melanoma who had already had their tumour surgically removed. All got Keytruda; about two-thirds also got the experimental jab, called Intismeran, while the rest got a placebo. The combination also cut the risk of the melanoma spreading by 38% over two years compared with immunotherapy alone.
How it works: the vaccine uses the same mRNA technology as some Covid jabs, and it’s built from information in each patient’s own tumour to train their immune system to spot and hit cancer cells if they return. Makers MSD (Merck in the US) and Moderna say the same approach is already being tested in kidney, bladder and lung cancer.
“Personalisation is the next step up and it’s really exciting, it’s a fabulous technology,” said Prof Pippa Corrie of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, who helped run part of the study.
Now the cold water. Independent experts called the results impressive but said longer studies are needed to show whether it helps patients live longer. “We shouldn’t get ahead of the evidence,” said Prof Alan Melcher of the Institute of Cancer Research. Investors sold off the stocks Thursday after analysts said the results weren’t quite as strong as an earlier, smaller trial. And cost is a big question, since every single patient needs their own tumour analysed and their own vaccine made.
The companies say they’re “engaging with authorities” and could seek approval as soon as next year. Full results are due at the ESMO cancer conference in Madrid on Saturday and haven’t yet been peer-reviewed.
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.
Sources: BBC News
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