An experimental mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck reduces the risk of death or recurrence of the deadliest type of cancer, melanoma, by 44%.
According to the agency Reutersthis reduction is compared with the isolated resource to keytruda immunotherapy (trade name of pembrolizumab), also from Merck, announced North American researchers at a clinical congress that took place on Sunday, in Florida, United States (USA).
The results suggest that adding a personalized vaccine based on messenger RNA technology to Keytruda could prolong the time until death or disease recurrence, said Jeffrey Weber of New York University’s Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center.
“From a general point of view of oncological therapies, this is potentially a huge advance.”said Ryan Sullivan, a melanoma specialist who participated in the study.
The results presented at a meeting of the American Association for Research Oncology (AACR, in the English acronym) add new data to the information already advanced by the two pharmaceutical companies in December.
The collaboration between Merck and Moderna is one of several that, recently, bet on the combination of several therapies to stimulate an immune system response against cancer, based on RNA-messenger technology. BioNTech and Gritstone are also working on messenger RNA cancer vaccines.
The messenger RNA vaccine is prepared based on the analysis of cancerous tissue surgically removed from the patient. Vaccines are designed to train the immune system to recognize and attack specific mutations in cancer cells.
The study involved 107 patients, who were at high risk of melanoma reappearing. One group was given the experimental mRNA-4157/V940 vaccine along with Keytruda. In this group, there was a recurrence of the disease in 22.4% of the patients. In the control group, which only used Keytruda, the melanoma returned in 40% of cases.
The side effects observed in both groups were similar, with fatigue being the most reported symptom.
A new clinical trial will be needed for the approval of this therapy in the US, which could still take three to four years. A custom design of RNA-messenger vaccine for each patient takes eight weeks.
ZAP // 
