A personalized cancer vaccine could be available as soon as 2027. Here’s what we know

A breakthrough treatment for the deadliest form of skin cancer can cut a patient’s risk of recurrence or death nearly in half. The new scientific revelation is powered by an mRNA-based vaccine crafted with the technology behind both Pfizer and Moderna’s landmark Covid-19 shots. By using mRNA, the vaccine can be tailored to the genetic specifics of a specific patient’s skin cancer, fighting tumors much more effectively than generic traditional methods. “For decades, cancer treatment has largely been defined by where a tumor originates in the body,” Melanoma Institute Australia Professor Georgina Long, the study’s principal author, wrote in the announcement. “The [clinical trial] findings support a fundamentally new and individualized approach to treating resected melanoma… one that tailors treatment to the unique mutational signature of a patient’s tumor to enhance an anti-tumor immune response.” Pharmaceutical giants Merck and Moderna published the results on Thursday, demonstrating that an mRNA vaccine combined with infusions of the existing drug Keytruda lowered the risk of melanoma returning or a patient dying from their cancer by 42%. The vaccine, which has yet to be branded, …

≈