In a breakthrough that has been endorsed as a “game-changing” solution to cancer, medical professionals have commenced the first global human trials of a personalised mRNA melanoma vaccine. Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, affects around 132,000 individuals globally each year. Traditional treatments have included measures like surgery, radiation therapy, medication, and chemotherapy.
However, researchers are currently testing a new approach that hinges on specialised injections that are purposely designed for each individual. The objective is for these injections to instruct the human body to identify and eliminate cancer cells, thereby preventing a recurrence of the disease.
Phase 2 trials have already shown encouraging results, with the vaccines significantly lowering the chances of melanoma recurrence. Now, a definitive Phase 3 trial has commenced, under the leadership of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Apart from melanoma, the injections are being put to test for different cancer types, including those of the lung, bladder, and kidney.
Describing the innovation, Dr Heather Shaw, the chief investigator for the studies, likened it to offering a gourmet meal in contrast to a fast-food option. The trial has also sparked excitement among participants.
This one-of-a-kind vaccine is a targeted neoantigen therapy designed to stimulate the immune system against a patient’s specific cancer and tumour type. Identified as mRNA-4157 (V940), it prompts an anti-tumour immune response based on a patient’s unique cancer mutations by targeting up to 34 neoantigens on a specific patient’s tumours.
To develop the bespoke anti-cancer treatment, a tumour sample is surgically extracted from the patient, followed by DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence deployment. The outcome is a meticulously devised jab that aims to incite a precise tumour-specific response.
Shaw characterised this particular therapy as being notably more advanced and personalised compared to a standard vaccine. It’s uniquely designed for each patient’s specific condition and wouldn’t prove effective if provided to another patient. This is due to the unlikelihood that two patients will share the identical new antigens required for their unique tumour, hence it is genuinely bespoke.
Shaw underpins the potential of these therapies to be “game-changers” in immunotherapy, with the long-term vision of curing patients from their cancer permanently.
Phase 2 results have shown that individuals with severe high-risk melanomas had a 49 per cent reduced risk of either dying or their cancer returning three years post-treatment as compared to those receiving only Keytruda, when treated with both the jab and immunotherapy Keytruda. The course of treatment involved patients taking 1mg of the mRNA vaccine every three weeks, up to nine doses, and 200mg of Keytruda every three weeks, up to 18 doses, over approximately a year.
This trial is now going forward in its phase 3, aiming to enrol around 1,100 participants globally, with the UK looking to recruit at least 60 to 70 patients across eight medical centres in cities, including London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Leeds.
One of the patients already enrolled in the UCLH’s trial, Steve Young, from Stevenage in Hertfordshire, expressed his excitement, stating that he viewed this as the best opportunity to halt his cancer’s progress.