ESMO Congress 2026

#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 publicly available, ESMO has released the information contained in the abstract and has lifted the embargo on the full dataset.

🎥 #OAOnTheGO | OncoAlert at #ESMO26 Madrid INTerpath-001 is positive! 🔬 @ProfGLongMIA @jasonlukemd Dr. Mario Balsa (@HospitalClínic Barcelona) discusses pembrolizumab + personalized mRNA vaccine V940 in resected melanoma. 📊 2-year RFS: 82% vs 60% (HR 0.58) 📊 DMFS: 88.5% vs 80.2% (HR 0.62) Will this translate into longer survival? Who benefits most? And how does it fit with neoadjuvant immunotherapy? 🎬 Watch now! #Melanoma #OncoAlert @DrBetofMDPhD, @cdanicas, @matteolambe, @NiuSanford, @GlopesMd, @PGrivasMDPhD, @brian_rini, @to_be_elizabeth, @ElisaAgostinett, @nataliagandur, @UOzkerim, @DrMirallas, @DrYukselUrun, @Lucarecco, @mzugman, @HHorinouchi, @p_ciracimd, @DraMartinezLago, @DrVilmaPBarcia, @GIMedOnc, @MarioBalsaMD, @scocmem, @AmandaNizamMD, @GaiaGriguolo, @JankovicK, @Dr_Oncologista, @Erman_Akkus, @WeOncologists, @niklas_kluemper, @Markuseckstein

🎥 #OAOnTheGO | OncoAlert at #ESMO26 Madrid INTerpath-001 is positive! 🔬 @ProfGLongMIA @jasonlukemd Dr. Mario Balsa (@HospitalClínic Barcelona) discusses pembrolizumab + personalized mRNA vaccine V940 in resected melanoma. 📊 2-year RFS: 82% vs 60% (HR 0.58) 📊 DMFS: 88.5% vs 80.2% (HR 0.62) Will this translate into longer survival? Who benefits most? And how does it fit with neoadjuvant immunotherapy? 🎬 Watch now! #Melanoma #OncoAlert @DrBetofMDPhD, @cdanicas, @matteolambe, @NiuSanford, @GlopesMd, @PGrivasMDPhD, @brian_rini, @to_be_elizabeth, @ElisaAgostinett, @nataliagandur, @UOzkerim, @DrMirallas, @DrYukselUrun, @Lucarecco, @mzugman, @HHorinouchi, @p_ciracimd, @DraMartinezLago, @DrVilmaPBarcia, @GIMedOnc, @MarioBalsaMD, @scocmem, @AmandaNizamMD, @GaiaGriguolo, @JankovicK, @Dr_Oncologista, @Erman_Akkus, @WeOncologists, @niklas_kluemper, @Markuseckstein

It was a great honour to present the results of the phase 3 INTerpath-001 clinical trial at the #ESMO26 Congress in Madrid. This international trial included 1137 patients, across 157 sites, whose melanoma had been surgically removed, but who were at very high risk of it returning. The trial showed adding #intismeran autogene, an mRNA based individualised neoantigen therapy, to pembrolizumab reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 42%. This is the first phase 3 study to show that a treatment built from the unique ‘fingerprint’ of a patient’s own tumour can reduce the risk of recurrence or death from cancer. That fingerprint is read by sequencing the tumour, then a ‘wanted poster’ of the cancer is made as mRNA, showing the immune system exactly what to look for and attack. Having succeeded in melanoma, this proof of concept could mark the beginning of a foundational shift in how we treat cancer. Read more >https://melanoma.org.au/news/personalised-cancer-vaccine-cuts-risk-of-melanoma-recurrence/ A huge thank you to all patients and teams involved. @myESMO @Sydney_Uni @syd_health @Science_Academy @AAHMS_health @FulbrightAUS @NthSydHealth @ausoftheyear

So the “not-so-official-anymore“ presentation is in: The melanoma vaccine works. We knew that, 82% recurrence-free at two years vs 70% with immunotherapy alone. It's built individually for each patient, the logistics are enormous: Sequence their tumor, design the vaccine, manufacture it for one person. Weeks of work that will cost a fortune. A treatment like that doesn't scale to most of the world. It scales to countries that can afford a factory run per patient. I live in a country which happens to be able to afford that, most countries can’t. Melanoma kills people everywhere. This will reach a fraction of them. Solving cancer and solving access are two different problems. We just got better at the first one.