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- Researchers say findings could represent significant step toward personalized cancer treatment aiming to stimulate immune system to remaining cancer cells after surgery
By Aysu Bicer
LONDON (AA) – A personalized cancer vaccine administered alongside an immunotherapy drug reduced the risk of death or melanoma recurrence by 42%, according to results from a major clinical trial involving more than 1,000 patients.
The phase three trial found that the combination of the vaccine and Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug widely used in cancer treatment, also reduced the risk of melanoma spreading by 38% over two years compared with treatment with Keytruda alone.
The international trial involved patients with high-risk melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. Participants received either the personalized vaccine alongside Keytruda or Keytruda with a placebo for approximately one year.
The study was double-blind, meaning neither the patients nor the researchers knew who received the vaccine or the placebo.
Researchers said the findings could represent a significant step toward 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,” said Professor Pippa Corrie, a consultant medical oncologist 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.
Tony Chapman, 75, from North Northamptonshire, who participated in the trial at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, described the findings as “groundbreaking.”
Chapman was diagnosed with stage three melanoma in 2019 and underwent surgery to remove a tumour from his chest. Four years later, he discovered a lump under his armpit and required surgery to remove lymph nodes.
After completing treatment at the NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility last year, Chapman remains cancer-free. However, 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 stressed that longer-term studies are needed to determine whether the treatment improves overall survival for most patients.
The findings offer encouraging evidence for personalized cancer vaccines, although further research will be needed to establish their long-term benefits.
Aysu Biçer
