As the oncology community gathers in Madrid for #ESMO26, new results from a phase 3 melanoma trial are putting personalized mRNA cancer vaccines in the spotlight.

Merck and Moderna reported that adding an experimental mRNA vaccine to immunotherapy reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42% compared with immunotherapy alone. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) was among the institutions participating in the trial.

At the Hertz Summer Workshop, we spoke with 2024 Hertz Fellow David Hoyos, a researcher in the Benjamin Greenbaum Lab at MSK, about how mRNA technology could help advance the next generation of cancer vaccines.

Hoyos is studying how to teach the immune system to recognize mutant p53, a protein associated with many cancers. His research focuses on Li-Fraumeni syndrome, an inherited condition that greatly increases the risk of several cancers, including breast cancer.

While cancer vaccine trials are exploring ways to treat cancer or prevent its recurrence, Hoyos is investigating whether mRNA vaccines could one day help prevent or delay breast cancer in women with Li-Fraumeni syndrome. He also hopes the research will reveal how to train the immune system to target mutant p53 in a much broader range of cancers.

#CancerVaccines #CancerResearch #breastcancer