A Vaccine from One's Own Tumour
A personalised mRNA vaccine against melanoma has for the first time passed the third, decisive phase of clinical trials. For patients who had high-risk melanoma surgically removed, adding the vaccine to standard immunotherapy lowered the risk of recurrence or death by 42% compared to those receiving immunotherapy alone. After two years, 82% of patients remained disease-free, versus 70% in the control group.
Even after surgery, individual cancer cells can remain in the body: too few to be seen on scans, but capable of bringing the disease back over time. The treatment from Moderna and Merck is made for each patient individually. A computer analyses the genes of the removed tumour to find up to 34 targets, and the vaccine teaches the immune system to recognise these specific cells, while the long-established drug pembrolizumab removes the ‘brakes’ that cancer uses to suppress the immune response.
More than 1,000 people from 157 clinics worldwide took part in the trial, and the vaccine was successfully manufactured for 99% of the patients for whom it was prescribed, taking an average of 64 days. The companies are already discussing the results with regulators, and researchers are investigating whether the technology could also help with lung, kidney and bladder cancer.
