A world-first mRNA cancer vaccine has dramatically cut the risk of melanoma recurrence and death in a landmark large-scale trial that signals a new era in personalised cancer medicine.
The Australian-led phase 3 trial found that adding a tailor-made cancer vaccine reduced the risk of the recurrence of melanoma or death by 42 per cent, compared with patients who were only given the immunotherapy drug, pembrolizumab (sold as Keytruda).
Principal investigator Professor Georgina Long said she almost fell off her chair when she got the phone call relaying the trial results.
“I’m not one prone to exaggeration, but this really is a very, very big leap forward in cancer,” said Long, who pioneered immunotherapy treatments that transformed melanoma from a death sentence to a treatable disease.
“It’s all the clichés: landmark moment, moon landing, first flight – it really is a foundational shift,” she said from her apartment in Lisbon, Portugal, on sabbatical from her medical director role at the Melanoma Institute Australia, affiliated with the University of Sydney.
Trial participants had all previously undergone surgery to remove their melanoma tumours. All 1137 were given pembrolizumab. Two-thirds were also given the personalised mRNA therapeutic vaccine designed to enable their immune system to recognise and destroy their distinct cancer cells, while the remaining patients were given a placebo injection.
The trial, funded by Merck and Moderna, found that, at two years, 82 per cent of trial patients who received both treatments were alive and melanoma-free, compared with 70 per cent of those who received pembrolizumab alone.
The Australian-led phase 3 trial found that adding a tailor-made cancer vaccine reduced the risk of the recurrence of melanoma or death by 42 per cent, compared with patients who were only given the immunotherapy drug, pembrolizumab (sold as Keytruda).
Principal investigator Professor Georgina Long said she almost fell off her chair when she got the phone call relaying the trial results.
“I’m not one prone to exaggeration, but this really is a very, very big leap forward in cancer,” said Long, who pioneered immunotherapy treatments that transformed melanoma from a death sentence to a treatable disease.
“It’s all the clichés: landmark moment, moon landing, first flight – it really is a foundational shift,” she said from her apartment in Lisbon, Portugal, on sabbatical from her medical director role at the Melanoma Institute Australia, affiliated with the University of Sydney.
Trial participants had all previously undergone surgery to remove their melanoma tumours. All 1137 were given pembrolizumab. Two-thirds were also given the personalised mRNA therapeutic vaccine designed to enable their immune system to recognise and destroy their distinct cancer cells, while the remaining patients were given a placebo injection.
The trial, funded by Merck and Moderna, found that, at two years, 82 per cent of trial patients who received both treatments were alive and melanoma-free, compared with 70 per cent of those who received pembrolizumab alone.
melanoma වගේ ලෙඩකට ආයේ එන අවදානම 42%කින් අඩුවෙනවා කියන්නේ මාර වෙනසක්. ඉස්සර melanoma කිව්වෙ මරණ වරෙන්තුවක් වගේනේ, දැන් නම් කතාව වෙනස් වෙනවා වගේ.
