Key facts
- Personalized mRNA vaccine intismeran combined with Keytruda showed a 42% reduction in risk of recurrence or death in melanoma patients.
- Distant metastasis-free survival risk was reduced by 38% with the intismeran-Keytruda treatment.
- The trial is the first Phase 3 study to show meaningful improvement in recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival over standard-of-care Keytruda for resected melanoma.
New data from a Phase 3 trial indicates that a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran, when used in combination with Keytruda, significantly reduced the risk of death or recurrence in melanoma patients. The tailored vaccine uses synthetic mRNA to target up to 34 mutations specific to a patient's cancer cells.
After two years, participants receiving the intismeran-Keytruda treatment experienced a 42% reduction in their risk of recurrence or death compared to those who received Keytruda and a placebo. This translated to 82% of the intismeran-Keytruda group remaining alive without recurrence, versus 70% in the control group.
For distant metastasis-free survival, the intismeran-Keytruda combination lowered the risk of distant metastasis or death by 38%. At the trial's conclusion, 88.5% of patients in the intismeran-Keytruda arm were alive without distant metastasis, compared to 80% in the Keytruda-placebo arm. While not as strong as results from a previous Phase 2 trial, these findings represent a significant advance in melanoma treatment.