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For anyone who has undergone cancer surgery, removing the tumor does not necessarily end the worry. The question that follows patients into every scan and checkup is whether it will return.
An experimental vaccine tailored to each patient’s tumor could help reduce that risk, according to a major study reported by The Associated Press.
Developed by Moderna and Merck, the vaccine, called intismeran, was tested in more than 1,100 people whose high-risk melanoma had been surgically removed. All received the immunotherapy drug Keytruda; some also received the personalized vaccine, while others received a placebo.
After two years, 82% of patients receiving the vaccine alongside Keytruda were alive without their cancer returning, compared with 70% receiving Keytruda alone, AP reported. The companies described the results as a 42% reduction in recurrence risk. That is a relative reduction, rather than a 42-percentage-point improvement.
Teaching the body what to look for
Unlike a vaccination given to healthy people to prevent an infection, this treatment is designed for people who have already had cancer.
Scientists examine the removed tumor for genetic changes unique to that patient’s cancer. They then make an mRNA vaccine that teaches the immune system to recognize warning signs of those cancer cells and attack them if they reappear.
Patients in the study received nine doses, three weeks apart. Reported reactions were mainly a sore arm, fatigue and other symptoms similar to those experienced after mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations.
The findings offer encouragement for patients and families in Cyprus, where the period after treatment can also mean years of follow-up appointments and uncertainty. The potential advance is an additional treatment that could help keep cancer from returning after surgery.
What would it mean for patients in Cyprus?
There are still important steps between a successful trial and treatment at a local oncology clinic.
Moderna and Merck are discussing the approval process with regulators. The supplied report does not establish when the vaccine might become available in Cyprus or whether it would be covered by GESY.
Cost is another unanswered question. Each vaccine must be made individually, with tumor analysis and production taking roughly six weeks, sometimes longer. The companies have not announced a price.
Researchers are continuing to follow participants to establish how well the protection lasts. Similar personalized approaches are being investigated for other cancers, but success against melanoma does not yet establish that they will work against those diseases.
For now, the results offer something meaningful to people living with the fear of recurrence: evidence that a treatment built around their own tumor could improve the chances of remaining cancer-free.
*Based on reporting by The Associated Press.
