‘It’s huge’: Vaccine for melanoma found to reduce recurrence, death by half
Global News
A new messenger RNA vaccine, paired with an antibody drug, has been shown to reduce the chance of recurrence or death from melanoma by half after three years.
A new messenger RNA vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck has been shown to reduce the chance of recurrence or death from melanoma — the most dangerous form of skin cancer — by half after three years when paired with Merck’s antibody medication Keytruda, the companies announced Thursday.
The combination of the treatments cut the risk of recurrence or death by 49 per cent compared with Keytruda alone in the midstage trial, the drugmakers said.
The three-year study involved 157 patients with stage 3 and 4 melanoma, whose tumours were removed before being treated with either the vaccine or drug. The reduction is up from 44 per cent found a year earlier.
“It’s huge,” Melanoma Canada CEO Falyn Katz told Global News of the announcement. “This is a breakthrough.”
The vaccine is custom-made for each recipient based on the DNA sequence of their removed tumour. The vaccine then activates an antitumour immune response “by generating specific T-cell responses based on the unique mutational signature of a patient’s tumor,” Moderna and Merck said in a statement.
Katz said it is the first cancer treatment that uses vaccines that she knows of, and suggests it’s possible vaccines could be used to treat other cancers.
“Melanoma is often the guinea pig of cancers that are tested with these new treatments,” she said. “A lot of melanoma treatments have gone on to treat breast cancer as well.”
A breast cancer vaccine is currently in early clinical trials.
Bird flu has spread far and wide, infecting a range of species like chickens, skunks, cows, foxes and polar bears. But it's the pigs that have experts on high alert.
The CFIA has recalled E. coli-tainted carrots, following a U.S. health warning about the contaminated produce linked to one death and dozens of illnesses.
Health Canada said there was an issue with the braking system of the Stokke YOYO baby stroller, sold between August and October this year.
These editorial stories and interviews will focus on the people, companies, research, and innovations leading the environmental and sustainable movement in B.C.
Bennett had just returned from the school run last week when she found the mom and a baby raccoon unconscious, with one of the babies sleeping on the furniture.
B.C. health authorities have announced the first case of a human avian flu infection acquired in Canada, with the teenage patient in critical condition in hospital.
People have been hearing a lot about H5N1 bird flu — or highly pathogenic avian influenza — since a B.C. teen became the first human to get the virus in Canada and is in hospital.
The Liberal government and the NDP negotiated the substance of a pharmacare bill as part of their now-defunct supply-and-confidence agreement.
Kennedy ran as an independent presidential candidate but gave Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the next Trump administration.
Emergency services are at the scene of a train derailment Thursday morning on Montreal's south shore, where they are urging citizens to stay away from the area.
"I was yelling at them saying get the F** away it’s a wild animal," resident Josh Merrin told Global News. "Sorry about my language."