Personalized mRNA Cancer Vaccine Reduces Rate of Recurrence in Melanoma
Source: Targeted Oncology, December 2022
A phase 2b trial of pembrolizumab plus a personalized mRNA vaccine resulted in improved recurrence-free survival in patients with resected high-risk melanoma, the first successful randomized trial of its kind.
Patients who received an mRNA vaccine in addition to adjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) had improved recurrence-free survival (RFS) versus the immune checkpoint inhibitor alone following resection of high-risk melanoma, according to an announcement made by Moderna, Inc and Merck.
Investigators in the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 trial (NCT03897881) found a 44% reduction in risk recurrence or death (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.31-1.08; one-sided P = .0266) in patients who received both the mRNA vaccine and pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab alone. This marks the first randomized trial where a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine has been shown to improve clinical outcomes for patients versus an active comparator.