09/02/2026
A personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine is showing promise in a late-stage melanoma trial.
Merck and Moderna said the individualized vaccine, paired with the existing immunotherapy Keytruda, significantly reduced the risk of cancer returning or spreading in high-risk melanoma patients whose cancer had been surgically removed.
Earlier Phase 2b data showed a 49% reduction in melanoma recurrence after surgery and a 59% reduction in the cancer spreading to distant organs.
The vaccine is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Regulators still need to review the full data once it has been collected and submitted.
For now, the results mark another step in the study of mRNA technology for cancer treatment.
Source:
Merck and Moderna announced Wednesday that a personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine succeeded in a large, late-stage trial among patients with melanoma.