After decades of research efforts and repeated setbacks, a personalized anti-cancer vaccine has demonstrated its efficacy for the first time. Moderna's mRNA-based vaccine was shown to reduce the risk of recurrence or death by 42% in patients suffering from advanced melanoma. These significant results were unveiled on October 24 during the congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) held in Madrid.
Beyond this specific breakthrough, numerous research teams worldwide are developing varied vaccine strategies to combat many types of cancer. While most of these approaches aim to prevent disease recurrence or progression, they differ in their composition. Some vaccines are personalized and prepared specifically for each patient, whereas others are standardized and identical for all recipients.
Inge Marie Svane, a Danish oncologist and pioneer in cancer immunotherapies, reported that more than 200 early-phase trials have been launched to evaluate personalized vaccines against a multitude of cancers. Among these candidate vaccines, 40% are based on protein fragments, 17% utilize RNA, and 8% rely on DNA. Additionally, 19% of the candidates target dendritic cells, which are responsible for presenting mutated tumor protein fragments to the immune system to stimulate a defense response.
Sources: Le Monde Sciences.