Melanoma vaccine lowers death, reoccurrence risk by 49 per cent, trial finds

Results of the vaccine trial are being presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

The vaccine, called mRNA-4157 (V940), was developed by Moderna and was administered to patients in the trial in combination with an immunotherapy drug called Keytruda.

The results showed that the 2.5-year relapse-free survival rate for the vaccine in combination with Keytruda was 74.8%, compared to 55.6% for Keytruda alone.

“Importantly, this benefit was seen in different study subsets of patients, reflecting the potential of mRNA-4157 (V940) for a broad range of these patients,” said Moderna Senior Vice President Dr. Kyle Hollen.

“We are dedicated to using mRNA technology to potentially transform cancer therapy and improve patient outcomes.”

Australia has the highest rate of melanoma in the world.

Government organization Cancer Australia has estimated that melanoma diagnoses will account for around 11 per cent of all cancer cases in 2023.

This means approximately 18,257 cases of melanoma – 10,639 men and 7,618 women.

Of them, about 1,314 people will die.