Vaccine breakthrough stops cancer returning in trial

Merck and Moderna announced that their personalized mRNA vaccine, designed to target individual tumor mutations, has shown promise in preventing cancer recurrence in a trial. The vaccine is created by sequencing DNA from a surgically removed tumor fragment, then using the same mRNA platform employed in Covid‑19 shots to instruct the immune system to recognize and attack residual cancer cells. The companies are also testing analogous approaches for lung, bladder and kidney malignancies. Stephane Bancel, chief executive of Moderna, described the results as a "pivotal moment" in cancer research. Following the announcement, Moderna and Merck shares experienced notable gains. Independent experts welcomed the findings while urging caution. Dr Talisia Quallo, head of prevention and early detection at Cancer Research UK, said the data "shows promise" but stressed that the interim results require full review. She added, "It's captious that probe similar this continues to beryllium funded truthful that much radical with crab tin person personalised attraction options to assistance them unrecorded longer, amended lives". Dr Lennard Lee, adviser medical oncologist and associate professor at the University of Oxford, remarked, "This is surely bully quality for patients with melanoma, but the survey has overmuch wider implications. It provides impervious of rule that personalised crab vaccines work."