Merck/Moderna's Cancer Vaccines: A New Treatment Paradigm?

Merck and Moderna have reported that adding an experimental mRNA-based vaccine reduced the risk of the most deadly skin cancer spreading by 65% over treatment with immunotherapy alone in a midstage trial. The customized mRNA vaccine, given in combination with Merck's Keytruda, cut the risk of death or recurrence of melanoma by 44% compared with Keytruda alone. The mRNA technology can be used to assemble personalized vaccines that train the immune system to attack the specific type of cancer cells in a patient's tumors. The hope is for "a completely new treatment paradigm in cancer that will be better tolerated and unique to individual patients' tumors."