COVID-19 vaccine developers Moderna have developed a breakthrough cancer treatment that targets the personal genetics of patients fighting melanoma.
The vaccine consists of mRNA, which primes the patient’s immune system to recognise the mutations on the cancer cells as foreign invaders.
Each vaccine is personalised – using the patient’s own tissue biopsy to sequence the mutations, much like identifying a fingerprint.
A trial involving 150 high-risk patients produced “exciting” results, according to Moderna chief medical officer Paul Burton.
“The combination of a personalised cancer vaccine plus Keytruda reduced the risk of either dying from cancer, or having the cancer progress, by 44 percent,” Burton said.
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Professor Georgina Long of the Melanoma Institute of Australia said it could be the “penicillin moment” in cancer treatment.
The institute will carry out confirmatory studies, while a larger trial is set to take place next year.
It’s even hoped people with other kinds of cancer could benefit.
