They are checking whether vaccinations can cure cancer. The decisive phase

Both patients and researchers are very excited. Personalized mRNA vaccine for melanoma has just entered phase 3 of research. This is the final stage of clinical trials. The global Phase 3 trial will now include a broader group of patients and aims to recruit approximately 1,100 people from around the world.

Decisive results

Experts are currently testing new vaccines that are tailored to each patient and tell their body to hunt cancer cells to prevent the disease from returning. The study so far has shown that vaccines significantly reduced (by up to 49%) the risk of cancer recurrence in melanoma patients. The third phase is being led by University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). What's more, vaccines are also being tested on other cancers, including lung, bladder and kidney – reports The Guardian.

The solution was designed to stimulate the immune system to fight a specific type of cancer and the patient's tumor. The vaccine, known as mRNA-4157 (V940), targets cancer neoantigens that are expressed by a specific patient's tumors. These are markers on the tumor that can potentially be recognized by the immune system. To personalize it, a tumor sample is removed during the patient's surgery, then the DNA is sequenced and artificial intelligence is used. The result is a custom cancer vaccine that is specific to the patient's tumor.

Melanoma affects approximately 132,000 people each year worldwide. Currently the main treatment is surgeryalthough sometimes radiotherapy, drugs and chemotherapy are also used.