Incorporating a personalized mRNA vaccine, designed to match an individual’s tumor genetics, into standard immunotherapy substantially boosts survival rates and reduces the recurrence of high-risk skin cancers in patients who have had these malignancies removed.
Global trials that could revolutionize cancer treatment and save countless lives are being led by scientists from Edith Cowan University (ECU).
Clinical Professor Adnan Khattak from ECU’s Centre for Precision Health recently unveiled the newest findings from these trials at the 2023 American Society of Oncology (ASCO) congress in Chicago. The ASCO congress, attracting more than 45,000 participants, is the largest cancer treatment conference worldwide.
After 18 months, cancer-free survival among patients who received the vaccine and the immunotherapy treatment was 78.6 percent, compared to 62.2 percent of those who only received the immunotherapy.
Two years after treatment, only 22.4 percent of patients who had received the vaccine/immunotherapy combination had either died or seen a recurrence of the disease, which rose to 40 percent for the immunotherapy-only group.
Overall, after an average of two years, those who received the vaccine saw a 44 percent lower risk of death or melanoma returning to the same area of the body, and a 65 percent reduction in the risk of death or the cancer returning in a different area of the body.
Crucially, there was no significant increase in rates of adverse side effects.
Professor Khattak said the trial began as a way of trying to address the shortcomings of current treatments.
“The current standard of care is immunotherapy using an antibody known as pembrolizumab,” he said.
“There are two main issues: first, despite having active immunotherapy for stage three melanoma, about half of the patients will relapse at five years.
“And secondly, it’s a very crude approach: currently if I treat 10 new high-risk melanoma patients, I give them the same drug; it’s not rocket science that it’s going to work for some but not others, and some may see side effects and others may not.
“This is the biggest trial to show treatment improves with an individualized approach — and I think research into personal cancer vaccines is going to increase dramatically after this positive study.”
Getting to know you — and your disease
Though vaccines are typically associated with disease prevention, in this instance the mRNA vaccine is used to treat people who have already been diagnosed with melanoma.
Samples of tissue are taken and analyzed to identify neoantigens, proteins that form on cancer cells, and which are unique to an individual’s tumor.
Up to 34 neoantigens may be identified, which are then added to an mRNA molecule and added to a vaccine.
The result is a personalized cancer treatment, with the neoantigens most likely to develop an immune response to help the patient’s body fight cancer.
Professor Khattak said it appeared to be more effective after an extended period of time and required multiple doses.
“In this study, the survival rate between the two groups is the same after 40 weeks, so early relapses happen for both,” he said.
“Some patients have fairly resistant tumors that aren’t going to respond to either of the treatments.
“But after the first 40 weeks, by then the patients have had two or three vaccine doses and the anti-tumor effect really kicks in.
“We see quite a significant proportion of patients relapsing after they finish pembrolizumab, whereas we’re not seeing such late relapses in patients who have done the double treatment because in addition to pembrolizumab, the effect of the vaccine kicks in with a much stronger anti-tumor immune response.”
Next steps
Professor Khattak will soon lead a new global trial of the treatment,
His clinic in Perth, Western Australia recruited the most participants of any site in the world.
“I would like to thank all my patients who took part in this research at a difficult point in their life,” Professor Khattak said.
The new trial will include more participants, some with earlier stages of melanoma.
“Stage two and stage three patients combined constitute quite a significant proportion of patients who could be potentially cured, rather than waiting for them to develop metastatic or advanced disease where most of them will not be curable,” he said.
If successful, the trial could be the starting point of a new approach to cancer treatment, beyond just melanoma.
“This is going to be the stepping stone for a number of trials,” Professor Khattak said.
“Because now they have expanded it into lung cancer, kidney cancers, and also into gastrointestinal cancers.
“This has the potential of becoming a new standard of care moving forward.”
Meeting: 2023 American Society of Oncology
Those looking for details on the trial can contact One Clinical Research.
The research was funded by Moderna, Merck Sharp and Dohme.

News
Unlocking hidden soil microbes for new antibiotics
Most bacteria cannot be cultured in the lab-and that's been bad news for medicine. Many of our frontline antibiotics originated from microbes, yet as antibiotic resistance spreads and drug pipelines run dry, the soil [...]
By working together, cells can extend their senses beyond their direct environment
The story of the princess and the pea evokes an image of a highly sensitive young royal woman so refined, she can sense a pea under a stack of mattresses. When it comes to [...]
Overworked Brain Cells May Hold the Key to Parkinson’s
Scientists at Gladstone Institutes uncovered a surprising reason why dopamine-producing neurons, crucial for smooth body movements, die in Parkinson’s disease. In mice, when these neurons were kept overactive for weeks, they began to falter, [...]
Old tires find new life: Rubber particles strengthen superhydrophobic coatings against corrosion
Development of highly robust superhydrophobic anti-corrosion coating using recycled tire rubber particles. Superhydrophobic materials offer a strategy for developing marine anti-corrosion materials due to their low solid-liquid contact area and low surface energy. However, [...]
This implant could soon allow you to read minds
Mind reading: Long a science fiction fantasy, today an increasingly concrete scientific goal. Researchers at Stanford University have succeeded in decoding internal language in real time thanks to a brain implant and artificial intelligence. [...]
A New Weapon Against Cancer: Cold Plasma Destroys Hidden Tumor Cells
Cold plasma penetrates deep into tumors and attacks cancer cells. Short-lived molecules were identified as key drivers. Scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP), working with colleagues from Greifswald University Hospital and [...]
This Common Sleep Aid May Also Protect Your Brain From Alzheimer’s
Lemborexant and similar sleep medications show potential for treating tau-related disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that a commonly used sleep medication can restore normal sleep patterns and [...]
Sugar-Coated Nanoparticles Boost Cancer Drug Efficacy
A team of researchers at the University of Mississippi has discovered that coating cancer treatment carrying nanoparticles in a sugar-like material increases their treatment efficacy. They reported their findings in Advanced Healthcare Materials. Over a tenth of breast [...]
Nanoparticle-Based Vaccine Shows Promise in Fighting Cancer
In a study published in OncoImmunology, researchers from the German Cancer Research Center and Heidelberg University have created a therapeutic vaccine that mobilizes the immune system to target cancer cells. The researchers demonstrated that virus peptides combined [...]
Quantitative imaging method reveals how cells rapidly sort and transport lipids
Lipids are difficult to detect with light microscopy. Using a new chemical labeling strategy, a Dresden-based team led by André Nadler at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) and [...]
Ancient DNA reveals cause of world’s first recorded pandemic
Scientists have confirmed that the Justinian Plague, the world’s first recorded pandemic, was caused by Yersinia pestis, the same bacterium behind the Black Death. Dating back some 1,500 years and long described in historical texts but [...]
“AI Is Not Intelligent at All” – Expert Warns of Worldwide Threat to Human Dignity
Opaque AI systems risk undermining human rights and dignity. Global cooperation is needed to ensure protection. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has changed how people interact, but it also poses a global risk to human [...]
Nanomotors: Where Are They Now?
First introduced in 2004, nanomotors have steadily advanced from a scientific curiosity to a practical technology with wide-ranging applications. This article explores the key developments, recent innovations, and major uses of nanomotors today. A [...]
Study Finds 95% of Tested Beers Contain Toxic “Forever Chemicals”
Researchers found PFAS in 95% of tested beers, with the highest levels linked to contaminated local water sources. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known as forever chemicals, are gaining notoriety for their ability [...]
Long COVID Symptoms Are Closer To A Stroke Or Parkinson’s Disease Than Fatigue
When most people get sick with COVID-19 today, they think of it as a brief illness, similar to a cold. However, for a large number of people, the illness doesn't end there. The World [...]
The world’s first AI Hospital, developed in China is transforming healthcare
Artificial Intelligence and its developments have had a revolutionary impact on society, and healthcare is not an exception. China has made massive strides in AI integrated healthcare, and continues to do so as AI [...]