Experimental vaccine prevents recurrence of skin cancer – US researchers
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Moderna has developed an experimental vaccine that, when combined with immunotherapy Keytruda, may reduce the risk of skin cancer death or recurrence. This was announced by researchers at the meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, writes Reuters. Scientists found that the vaccine was 44% more effective when combined with Keytruda immunotherapy than immunotherapy alone. “And from a general cancer therapeutic perspective, this is potentially a major breakthrough,” Dr. Ryan Sullivan, a melanoma expert at Mass General Cancer who worked on the study, said in a statement. Photo: megaflop/Depositphotos The vaccine is made based on the analysis of the patient’s tumor after surgical removal. It is designed to “teach” the immune system to recognize and attack specific mutations in cancer cells. The interim study involved men and women at high risk of melanoma recurrence. Among 107 study participants who received both the experimental vaccine and Keytruda immunotherapy, cancer returned in 24 (22.4%) during the two-year follow-up, compared with 20 of 50 (40%) who received only Keytruda immunotherapy. As the scientists note, serious side effects were similar between the two groups of subjects. The most common side effect of the vaccine was fatigue. The company that developed the vaccine said researchers are in talks with US regulators to plan a late-stage trial. “It could be three to four years before the results of the larger trials are known,” Eliav Barr, Merck’s head of global clinical development and chief medical officer, said in an interview. He added that the development of a personalized mRNA vaccine for each patient takes about eight weeks. Recall that US scientists discovered a gene that can be used to predict the risk of a heart attack. Read also: In the USA, COVID-19 caused brain damage in 2 babies infected in the womb
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