Moderna mRNA vaccine almost halves the risk of skin cancer returning

The personalized mRNA vaccine intismeran, developed by Moderna and Merck, reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42% in a phase III trial when combined with pembrolizumab. The trial enrolled 1,137 patients with a median follow-up of about 25 months. The data will be presented at the ESMO meeting; the vaccine is tailored to each patient's tumor neoantigens and did not add major serious side effects. Experts consider the magnitude of risk reduction clinically meaningful, but long-term efficacy and which patients benefit still need further analysis.