British man tests first personalised melanoma vaccine

A pivotal trial of the world’s first ‘personalized’ mRNA vaccine against melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer, is currently underway in the UK.

Steve Young, 52, from Stevenage, Herts, who had a melanoma growth removed from his scalp in August last year, was one of the first patients to try the vaccine.

This is designed to help his immune system recognize and wipe out any remaining cancer cells.

And hopefully that means his cancer won’t come back.

The jab, mRNA-4157 (V940), uses the same technology as the current coronavirus vaccine and is being tested in the final phase III trial.

Doctors at University College London Hospital (UCLH) are giving the drug in conjunction with another drug, pembrolizumab, or Keytruda, which helps the immune system kill cancer cells.

The combination therapy, developed by Moderna and Merck Sharp & Dahmé (MSD), is not yet routinely available on the NHS outside of clinical trials.

Experts in several other countries, including Australia, are also trying it on patients to gather more evidence and consider whether it should be rolled out more widely.

Vaccines are individualized, meaning the composition of the vaccine is modified to suit each individual patient.

This is created to match the unique genetic characteristics of a patient’s own tumor and instructs the body to create proteins or antibodies that attack markers or antigens that are only present on those cancer cells. It works by

UCLH researcher Dr Heather Shaw said the jab had the potential to cure melanoma patients and was also being tested in other cancers – lung, bladder and kidney tumours.

“This is one of the most exciting things we’ve seen in a really long time,” she said.

“This is completely custom made for the patient and we cannot pass it on to the next patient in line because it is not expected to be effective.

“It’s really unique.

“These are highly technical and meticulously crafted for the patient.”

The UK part of the international trial aims to recruit at least 60 to 70 patients across eight centers including London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Leeds.

Mr Young is undergoing treatment in London.

He said: “I’m really, really excited.

“This is our best chance to stop the cancer from progressing.”

He said hearing about the study “really piqued my geek radar.”

Young had a lump on her scalp for years until she discovered the growth was cancerous.

He said receiving the diagnosis was a “huge shock”.

“I literally spent two weeks just thinking, ‘This is it,'” he said.

“My father died of emphysema at the age of 57. I actually thought, ‘I’m going to die younger than him.'”

Common signs of melanoma include:

The earlier melanoma is detected, the easier it is to treat and the more likely it is to be successful.

Patients with severe, high-risk melanoma who received the jab in combination with the immunotherapy Keytruda were more likely to die or have worse outcomes after three years than those who did not, according to Phase II trial data published in December. They were found to be almost half (49%) more likely to experience cancer again. I was given only medicine.

Dr Shaw said there was real hope that the treatment could be “game-changing”, especially since it appeared to have “relatively tolerable side effects”.

These include feeling tired and sore in the arm when given the jab, she said, adding that for the vast majority of patients it appeared to be no worse than getting a flu or coronavirus vaccine. .