Personalized mRNA Vaccine Halves Melanoma Recurrence

A new treatment strategy combining a personalized mRNA vaccine with an existing immunotherapy drug has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of melanoma returning after surgery, according to research presented at the 2026 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The findings, also published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, indicate the combination cuts the risk of cancer recurrence or death by nearly half.

The Phase IIb clinical trial, known as KEYNOTE942, involved 157 patients in the United States and Australia whose melanoma tumors had been surgically removed. All participants had cancer at a stage with a high risk of returning. Researchers from NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center led the study. A group of 107 patients received the personalized vaccine, called intismeran, alongside the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, sold as Keytruda. A comparison group of 50 patients received pembrolizumab alone, which is a current standard post-surgical care.

After five years of follow-up, 68.8 percent of patients who received the combination therapy remained cancer-free, compared to 49.1 percent of those receiving only the drug. The data shows...