Health · Medical Research · 4 hrs ago
Personalized mRNA vaccine cuts melanoma recurrence risk by 42%
Merck and Moderna tested a personalized mRNA vaccine alongside Keytruda in people with high-risk melanoma.
The 1,137 participants had surgery to remove their tumors and received Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug that helps the immune system fight cancer.
The vaccine was made using each patient’s tumor to identify abnormal proteins the immune system could learn to target.
Over about two years, the combination cut the risk of recurrence or death by 42% compared with Keytruda alone.
At the end of follow-up, 82% of those given the vaccine and Keytruda were recurrence-free, compared with 70% of those given Keytruda and a placebo.
The vaccine also reduced the risk of cancer spreading to other parts of the body by 38%, and reported side effects included fever, fatigue and pain at the injection site.
The vaccine is still under investigation and needs further validation and approval from health authorities before it can be widely used.
A personalized mRNA vaccine combined with pembrolizumab reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42% compared with pembrolizumab alone in a Phase 3 trial.
The INTerpath-001 trial included 1,137 people with high-risk melanoma who had undergone surgery to remove their tumors.
After about two years, 82% of patients who received the vaccine and pembrolizumab were alive without recurrence, compared with 70% of those who received pembrolizumab alone.
The vaccine, developed by Moderna and Merck, is made using information from each patient’s tumor.
The therapy remains under investigation, and the trial has not yet established whether it improves overall survival.
- Who
- Moderna and Merck developed the vaccine. The trial involved 1,137 people with high-risk melanoma.
- What
- A personalized mRNA vaccine added to pembrolizumab reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 42% compared with pembrolizumab alone.
- When
- The results were reported on October 23 and 24, 2026. The trial followed participants for about two years.
- Where
- The results are due to be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid.
- Why
- The vaccine is designed to help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells by targeting mutations specific to each patient’s tumor.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Moderna announced positive results from a late-stage trial, according to New Scientist.
NBC News and New Scientist reported detailed findings from the trial.
Wired reported that the Phase 3 trial results showed a 42% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death.
The findings were scheduled to be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid.
- Trial
- INTerpath-001
- Participants
- 1,137 people with high-risk melanoma
- Risk reduction
- 42% lower risk of recurrence or death with vaccine plus pembrolizumab
- Recurrence-free
- 82% with vaccine plus pembrolizumab; 70% with pembrolizumab alone
- Treatment developers
- Moderna and Merck
59 sources
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What people are saying
game changer
transformative
For the first time, a Phase III trial has demonstrated that an individualized therapeutic vaccine, designed on the basis of the molecular characteristics of each patient’s tumor, can significantly improve the outcomes of conventional immunotherapy.
I think approval could be quick, and next year sounds reasonable.
Posts on X
#ESMO26: The embargo on LBA1, “INTerpath-001: Phase 3 study of the mRNA-based individualised neoantigen therapy intismeran autogene plus pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab alone for adjuvant treatment of resected stage IIB-IV melanoma”, has been breached. As the data are now