OMM Newsroom
A personalized cancer vaccine given alongside the immunotherapy drug “Keytruda” reduced the risk of death or melanoma recurrence by 42%, results from a major clinical trial show. Anadolu Agency reported the findings.
The phase three trial also found that the combination reduced the risk of melanoma spreading by 38% over two years compared with “Keytruda” alone.
The international study involved more than 1,000 patients with high-risk melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. Participants received either the personalized vaccine with “Keytruda” or “Keytruda” with a placebo for approximately one year.
The trial was double-blind, meaning neither participants nor researchers knew who had received the vaccine and who had received the placebo.
Vaccine aims to target cancer cells left after surgery
Researchers said the findings could mark a step towards personalized cancer treatment, which aims to stimulate the body’s immune system to identify and attack cancer cells remaining after surgery.
“The personalized cancer vaccine uses exciting technology to stimulate the patient’s own immune system to recognise and attack any tumour cells remaining after surgery,” Professor Pippa Corrie, a consultant medical oncologist, said in a statement on Friday.
“It is a whole new approach to cancer treatment which is designed to improve outcomes compared with standard anticancer drug treatments that don't take into account individual differences, and this trial was the first proof of principle,” she added.
Trial participant remains cancer-free after treatment
Tony Chapman, 75, from North Northamptonshire, took part in the trial at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and described the findings as “groundbreaking.”
Chapman was diagnosed with stage three melanoma in 2019 and had surgery to remove a tumour from his chest. Four years later, he found a lump under his armpit and underwent surgery to have lymph nodes removed.
After completing treatment at the NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility last year, Chapman remains cancer-free. It is not known whether he received the personalized vaccine or the placebo.
Drugmakers “MSD” and “Moderna” said the same approach is also being tested against other cancers, including kidney, bladder and lung cancers.
Independent cancer experts welcomed the results but said longer-term studies are needed to establish whether the treatment improves overall survival for most patients. Further research will be needed to determine the long-term benefits of personalized cancer vaccines.
