Moderna and Merck report progress on potential skin cancer vaccine
CBSDec 26, 2022
An mRNA cancer vaccine produced by Moderna and Merck could reduce the risk of melanoma spreading—for patients in stages three and four of the disease—by 65% when used in conjunction with immunotherapy, according to clinical data released on Monday.
mRNA technology, deployed in many COVID vaccines, has long been hoped to have efficacy as a cancer treatment. The genetic makeup of a patient's tumor is mapped, and a targeted vaccine is administered in hopes of triggering an immune response against cancer without harming healthy tissue.
Anyone who has kept their finger on the pulse of medical technology knows that mRNA treatment is the future, and could be used to fight everything from the common cold to AIDS. A steady stream of promising results can give us hope that the next generation of safe, personalized cancer treatment is on the horizon. Vital research is continuing at a blistering pace.
While this is another positive development towards cancer vaccines, there is still much research to be done and concerns to be addressed. The Merck/Moderna data says nothing about the quality or quantity of the immune response triggered against the tumors. We can only hope these results stimulate more high-quality research in order to confirm the efficacy of these treatments, but a great deal of additional study is required.