Moderna-Merck skin cancer treatment shows five-year benefits

A personalized mRNA therapy developed by Moderna and Merck, given with Merck’s Keytruda after surgery, was reported to reduce the combined risk of death or cancer recurrence by 49% at five years in a mid-stage melanoma study; the companies have begun a late-stage skin cancer trial with results possible later this year.

Moderna and Merck reported five-year data showing prolonged benefit from a personalized mRNA therapy for high-risk melanoma. The treatment is tailored by sequencing each patient’s tumor and is administered alongside Merck’s Keytruda after surgical removal of tumors. In the mid-stage study, patients who received the injection plus Keytruda were 49% less likely to die or have their cancer return than those who received only Keytruda, the companies said. The five-year results were similar to three-year results previously disclosed. Study details: - Treatment uses messenger RNA designed from each patient’s tumor to train the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. - The study population consisted of patients with high-risk or severe melanoma who received treatment after surgical tumor removal. - The combination of the personalized mRNA injection plus Keytruda was reported to reduce the combined risk of death or recurrence by 49% at five years versus Keytruda alone. - Moderna and Merck have started a late-stage clinical trial in skin cancer, and the companies said results could be released later this year. - The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer estimated about 330,000 new melanoma cases and nearly 60,000 deaths globally in 2022. Summary: The five-year findings reinforce earlier mid-stage results and address the concern that late-stage melanoma can return after surgery. Moderna and Merck are advancing the approach into later trials across tumor types, with a skin cancer late-stage trial already under way and possible results expected later this year.