An experimental mRNA cancer drug has been found to stop the spread and return of melanoma for the first time, a potentially game-changing breakthrough for people with life-threatening skin cancer.
The vaccine, called intismeran, which is personalized for each patient, succeeded in preventing melanoma from coming back or spreading in people who had surgery to remove the cancer when combined with another cancer drug, Keytruda, the drugmakers Merck and Moderna announced Wednesday.
“These Phase 3 findings represent a pivotal moment for the field of cancer research,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. “Together with Merck, we have started to demonstrate the transformative potential of this technology to address critical unmet needs in the adjuvant melanoma setting.”
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. About 112,000 new melanomas are expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year, and more than 8,500 Americans will die, according to the American Cancer Society.
Only around a third of patients with the worst form of the disease live for five years after diagnosis, researchers say.
The companies did not say how long patients taking the drug combination lived without their cancer progressing. More details are expected to be shared at a medical conference later this year, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The trial included more than 1,000 patients who either took a combination of intismeran and Keytruda or just Keytruda for nearly a year.
Previous trials using the drug cut the risk of recurrence or death nearly in half compared with just taking Keytruda.
It remains to be seen when doctors could access the drug combo, Dr. Nina Bhardwaj, Director of Immunotherapy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told The Independent.
But Merck and Moderna are also studying the vaccine in trials for other forms of cancer, including lung, bladder and renal cell carcinoma.
“This is an exciting time for cancer immunotherapy. Vaccines are likely to make a difference in certain settings where the cancer burden is low,” Bhardwaj, who is also the Ward-Coleman Chair in Cancer Research at the school, said.
The bespoke approach to tackling patients’ tumors is an “important advance” toward more precise cancer drugs, Dr. Karen Knudsen, the chief executive of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, explained to The Independent.
“The underlying biology is compelling, and the study provides clinical validation for combining tumor-specific immune priming with checkpoint blockade therapy. This is representative of the next frontier of cancer immunotherapy, which is not just activating the immune system but ‘teaching’ it what to attack,” she said.
However, Knudsen, who is a former chief executive of the American Cancer Society, said questions still remain about the drug’s abilities and Dr. Michael Postow, Chief of the Melanoma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center who was a part of the research, said researchers are still waiting on full data from the trial.
“It will be important to understand the absolute benefit and overall survival data. Longer follow up is needed to determine whether enhanced tumor specific immunity actually translates into durable prevention of recurrence and metastatic disease,” Knudsen said.
“We are awaiting full data from the phase III trial, but this approach could mark an important next chapter for personalized immunotherapy in melanoma and potentially other cancers,” Postow said.
The treatment did not work in everyone, Dr. Christina Annunziata, Senior Vice President of Extramural Discovery at the American Cancer Society, pointed out.
“This is why we need to continue developing new ways to prevent melanoma recurrence. The options currently available (FDA approved) are immunotherapy with either Keytruda (pembrolizumab) or Opdivo (nivoumab). Or, if the melanoma has a known mutation in BRAF gene, then the combination of dabrafenib+trametinib can be used,” she said.
The chance of melanoma recurring is always looming over melanoma patients’ shoulders, Melanoma Research Foundation CEO Kyleigh LiPira told The Independent.
“Melanoma is a very sneaky cancer that likes to evade the immune system so the positive results from the trial bring not only hope for Completely Resected Stage IIB-IV patients but another tool in the toolbox!” she said.
Read MoreStocks climb as US Treasury acts to support bonds
Moderna shares surge after it says its experimental mRNA cancer treatment passed a key test
Camilla says she almost let slip King Charles’ cancer diagnosis before announcement
Leisure exercise tops work exercise for lowering dementia risk, study finds
Patient deaths at under-fire NHS trust ‘could be next major health scandal’
