An experimental mRNA cancer vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck cut the risk of death or recurrence of the most deadly skin cancer by 44% compared with Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda alone, U.S. researchers reported at a medical meeting Sunday.
The findings suggest that adding a personalized cancer vaccine based on mRNA technology to Keytruda, which revs up the immune response, could prolong the time patients have without recurrence or death, said Dr. Jeffrey Weber of the NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center, who presented the findings.
"From a general cancer therapeutic standpoint, this is a potential major breakthrough," Dr. Ryan Sullivan, a melanoma expert at Mass General Cancer who worked on the study, said in a statement.