mRNA technology would make it possible to create personalized cancer vaccines
The pharmaceutical sector could be very close to one turning point in the fight against cancer. It doesn’t seem just an illusion, because there are scientific data that would demonstrate that we are on the right track and one step away from the finish line: a vaccine against melanoma and other types of cancer. And behind this operation is one of the pharmaceutical companies that have been protagonists in the years of the pandemic, Modern.
Anti-cancer vaccine: what it is
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Let’s try to better understand what type of vaccine we are talking about by referring to experimentation that has been conducted so far. In fact, the data from the second trial of experiments on a customized vaccine with mRNA technology (the one used for anti-Covid vaccines), used though in combination with an immunotherapy, Keytruda® from Merck. In particular, Moderna’s CEO, Stephan Bancel, explained: “mRNA has marked a turning point for COVID-19 and now, for the first time ever, we have demonstrated the potential of the same technology with the results of the new study melanoma clinical trial. We will initiate further studies in melanoma and other forms of cancer with the aim of offering patients truly personalized cancer treatments. We look forward to publishing the complete data set and sharing the results at an upcoming medical conference on oncology, as well as with health authorities”.
The experimentation of the anti-cancer vaccine
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From the second phase of trials of the anti-cancer vaccine has emerged a significant improvement from a clinical and statistical point of view as for the recurrence of the disease and therefore the healing of patients who had melanoma in an advanced state, i.e. third and fourth stage. These patients were treated with the personalized cancer vaccine mRNA-4157/V940 and Keytruda immunotherapy. The upshot is that with the vaccine the risk of recurrence or death, compared with immunological treatment alone, was reduced by 44%. Jeffrey S. Weber, principal investigator of the study and deputy director of the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone, explained, “The results of this study are exciting. They provide the first evidence that we can improve recurrence-free survival rates on the melanoma front.” These data also provide the first evidence of how useful a personalized neoantigenic approach can be in addressing these types of cancers.”
When will the cancer vaccine be available?
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According to Stephan Bancel a Vanity Fair, The first vaccine for melanoma could be available as early as next year. The CEO of Moderna also added: “One can be ambitious and while being aware of the temporal needs of developing a vaccine, I am convinced that within 5 years, and as early as the next two, this technology could have a major impact on various types of cancer“.
What does the melanoma vaccine do?
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Personalized melanoma vaccines are intended to stimulate the immune system to generate an anti-tumor response that is specific to its cellular mutation. Immunotherapy is added to the vaccine, which boosts the immune system’s ability to help detect and fight cancer cells. So together the mRNA-4157/V940 vaccine and Keytruda immunotherapy improve the detection and destruction of tumor cells mediated by T cells, i.e. the cells considered the “sentinels” of the body in identifying the “enemy”, as well as it also happens for the anti-Covid vaccine.
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