A personalized cancer vaccine developed by Merck and Moderna has shown success in preventing the return of melanoma in a large clinical trial, raising hopes that the same approach could eventually be used against many other types of cancer, Reuters reported.
The trial, involving more than 1,000 patients whose localized tumors had been surgically removed, found the vaccine helped prevent the cancer from recurring or spreading. Moderna says thousands of melanoma patients could benefit within a few years of regulatory approval.
Unlike chemotherapy, which destroys healthy and cancerous cells alike, or immunotherapy drugs that broadly stimulate the immune system, the vaccine is custom-built for each patient. It instructs the immune system to recognize and attack mutations unique to that person's tumor.
"It is a big deal for the field in general," said Dr. Ryan Sullivan, director of the Center for Melanoma at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute. "With this positive study, there is hope that these approaches may change the way we treat cancer more broadly."
The treatment pairs the vaccine with Merck's immunotherapy drug Keytruda. Data from an earlier, smaller trial showed the combination cut the risk of recurrence by half and reduced the risk of the cancer spreading to new sites by 59% compared with Keytruda alone.
Moderna and Merck are already running large trials testing the approach against non-small cell lung cancer that has been surgically removed, with mid-stage studies ongoing in bladder and kidney cancers and earlier-stage work in pancreatic and stomach cancers. Multiple trial results are expected within the next two years, Moderna President Stephen Hoge told Reuters.
Roche and BioNTech are pursuing a similar vaccine, autogene cevumeran, in trials targeting colon and pancreatic cancer patients who have had surgery.
"We should be hearing results from multiple studies over the next few years and there's every reason to hope now, with this news, that many of them will be positive," said Dr. Robert Vonderheide, director of Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center.
Doctors say the broad applicability of the approach comes from the fact that many cancer types produce numerous mutations, making them recognizable targets for the immune system to attack.
"It's definitely an area that is going to be exploding, especially with these results coming out," said Dr. Elizabeth Buchbinder, a melanoma specialist at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, according to Reuters.
