It is an important and pioneering trial that could mean a great step forward in the fight against cancer.
Researchers in London are testing the first “personalized” vaccine messenger RNA (mRNA) designed to combat melanomathe deadliest form of skin cancer.
One of the first patients to try this vaccine is Steve Young, 52, who had melanoma removed from his scalp in August last year.
The objective is help your immune system recognize and eliminate any cancer cells that has remained in your body.
If all goes well, this will prevent the cancer from coming back.
The vaccine bears the technical name mRNA-4157 (V940) and uses the same technology as the most current Covid-19 vaccines. It is being tested in phase III trials.
Doctors at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) are giving it along with another drug, pembrolizumab or Keytruda, which also helps the immune system destroy cancer cells.
Genetic signature
The vaccine and drug treatment, manufactured by companies Moderna and Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), are not yet available outside of clinical trials.
Experts in other countries, including Australia, are also testing it in patients to gather more evidence and determine whether it should become widespread.
It is said to be a personalized vaccine because Its composition is modified to adapt it to each patient.
It is specifically generated to match the unique genetic signature of the patient’s own tumor and acts by ordering the organism that produces proteins or antibodies that attack the markers or antigens that are only found on those cancer cells.
Dr Heather Shaw is part of the trials carried out at University College London Hospitals.
Photo:PA Average
Dr. Heather Shaw, a Uclh researcher, explained that the vaccine has the potential to cure melanoma patients and that it is being tested in other types of cancer, such as lung, bladder and kidney cancer.
“It’s one of the most exciting things we’ve seen in a long time.”he claimed.
“Because it is personalized, it could not be administered to another patient, because it would not be expected to work.”
“It’s really personalized. These things are very technical and designed for the patient,” he adds.
“With gloves on”
The objective of the international trial as far as the United Kingdom is concerned is to recruit between 60-70 patients in eight clinics in the cities of London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Leeds.
Patients in the trial must have had their high-risk melanoma surgically removed within the last 12 weeks to ensure the best outcome. Some of them will receive a dummy or placebo injection instead of the vaccine.
However, none of them know which one they will receive.
“[El ensayo] It gave me the opportunity to feel like I was really doing something to fight a possible invisible enemy,” Young told BBC Radio 4.
“Scans showed it was radiologically clear, but obviously there was still a chance there were cancer cells floating around undetected.
“So, instead of sitting back and hoping it doesn’t show up again, I had the opportunity to put on boxing gloves and face it.”
In January 2023, this is what the lump on the scalp that Young detected looked like.
Photo:PA Average
Melanoma symptoms
Young, who is a musician by profession, He had a lump on his scalp for many years before realizing it was cancer. He said the diagnosis came as a “huge shock” to him.
“I literally spent two weeks thinking ‘it’s the end,'” he explains.
“My father died of emphysema at age 57 and I thought ‘I’m going to die younger than my father.'”
The most common signs of melanoma that people should watch for are:
- a new abnormal mole
- an existing mole that appears to be growing or changing
- a change in an area of skin that was normal
It is important to attend to suspicious skin changes in time in the case of melanoma.
Photo:Getty Images
What does melanoma look like?
The change in appearance of a mole, like in these four images, can be a sign of melanoma.
The ABCDE checklist can help identify if a mole is abnormal:
A – asymmetrical (is the mole an irregular shape?)
B – edge (are the edges blurry or jagged?)
C – color (does it have an irregular color with different shades and tones?)
D – diameter (is the mole bigger than the others?)
E – evolution (is it changing, for example does it start to itch, bleed or scab?)
These changes are not always carcinogenic, but it is important to undergo a review.
The earlier melanoma is detected, the easier it is to treat and the greater the chances of success.
Photo:NHS
Data from the phase II trial, released in December, revealed that people with severe, high-risk melanomas who received the shot along with Keytruda immunotherapy were almost half (49%) as likely to die or have their cancer come back later. after three years than those who only received the drug.
Shaw stated that there was real hope that therapy could be a “game changer”especially because it seemed to have “relatively tolerable side effects.”
These include tiredness and soreness in the arm when the shot is given, adding that for most patients it does not appear to be worse than the flu or Covid-19 vaccine.
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