Clinical trials of the world’s first “personalized” mRNA vaccine against the deadliest form of skin cancer – melanoma – begin in Great Britain, reports the BBC.
Steve Young, 52, from the southern city of Stevenage, was among the first patients to try the injection. Last year, Young underwent surgery to have a melanoma excised from his scalp. The vaccine is supposed to cause Young’s immune system to recognize and destroy any remaining cancer cells.
The mRNA-4157 (V940) vaccine uses the same technology as current Covid-19 vaccines and is in the final stage of trials, the so-called Phase III. Doctors at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) combined the vaccine with the drug Pembrolizumab or Keytruda, which also helps the immune system kill cancer cells.
A genetic signature
The combination treatment, made by Moderna and Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), is not yet routinely offered outside of clinical trials. Experts in Australia are also testing the vaccine on patients to gather more evidence and see if it should be rolled out more widely.
The vaccine is personalized, meaning that its composition is changed to meet the individual needs of patients. It is designed to match the unique genetic signature of a patient’s tumor and works by instructing the body to produce proteins or antibodies that attack markers or antigens found only on those cancer cells.
Dr Heather Shaw, who is on the research team, says the vaccine has the potential to cure people with melanoma and is being tested on other types of cancer – lung, bladder and kidney tumours. ”The vaccine is personalized for the patient and can’t be given to the next patient in line because it won’t work,” she says.
The UK arm of the international clinical trial aims to recruit at least 60-70 patients across eight centres, including London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Leeds. Patients participating in the trial must have undergone a procedure to remove high-risk melanoma 12 weeks before enrolling in the study to ensure the best outcome.
Steve Young is being treated in London. He told BBC Radio 4 that the trial gave him a chance to fight a potential invisible enemy.
”The scans showed I was radiologically clear, but there was still a chance cancer cells were floating around undetected. So instead of just sitting around waiting and hoping it never happens again, I had this chance to get involved in putting on the boxing gloves and doing it,” he says.
The earlier melanoma is detected, the easier it is to treat and the more likely the treatment will be successful.
Data from the Phase II trials released in December found that people with serious, high-risk melanomas who also received Keytruda immunotherapy were almost half (49%) less likely to die or have their cancer come back after three years than those who took the drug alone.
Dr Shaw says there is real hope the therapy could be a game-changer, especially since it appears to have ”relatively tolerable side effects” such as fatigue and swelling at the site of the vaccine.
