New potential nanocarrier cancer vaccine could rescue immune response against melanoma
Source: Advance Science News, March 2025
Researchers have created a new vaccine for the treatment of late-stage metastatic melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer that can resist conventional treatments because it exists in an ecosystem that suppresses the body’s immune response.
This immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment prevents therapies from effectively targeting and eliminating cancer cells. While other cancer interventions, such as targeted therapies and existing immunotherapeutics, have shown some efficacy with melanoma, this environment can cause immune-related adverse effects and rapid tumor relapse, the return of cancer after a period of remission or when it’s thought to be under control.
This problem is one that is vital to overcome, with melanoma being the most common fatal form of skin cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that during 2025 and in the U.S. alone, around 104,960 new melanomas will be diagnosed, and an estimated 8,430 people will die as a result of melanoma.