Personalised cancer vaccine lowers risk of melanoma recurrence or death in trial

A clinical trial has shown that a personalised cancer vaccine, given alongside immunotherapy, reduced the risk of melanoma returning or causing death by 42 per cent.

The finding concerns melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Personalised cancer vaccines are designed to help the immune system recognise features of an individual patient’s tumour.

The reported reduction applies to the combined outcome of recurrence or death. It does not mean that the vaccine prevented 42 per cent of deaths, or that the same benefit has been established for other cancers.

The result points to the potential of combining personalised vaccines with immunotherapy. However, the summary did not provide details on the trial’s size or follow-up period, leaving questions about how broadly the findings apply and how long the benefit lasts.