A vaccine sewn from your own tumour: melanoma's return risk falls 42% in a landmark Phase 3 trial

Dr Sekwon Jang has waited a career for a result like this. In INTerpath-001 — 1,137 patients whose high-risk melanoma had been surgically removed — a personalised mRNA treatment called intismeran, built from the mutations in each patient's own tumour and added to the immunotherapy Keytruda, cut the risk of the cancer returning or causing death by 42%. The risk of distant spread or death fell 38%, and at two years 82.2% of patients on the combination remained cancer-free, against 70% on Keytruda alone. Presented at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress, it is the first successful Phase 3 trial of a cancer treatment customised to one person's tumour — and the first mRNA cancer treatment to reach this milestone. 'This has the potential to be a major breakthrough in melanoma treatment,' Jang said. Merck and Moderna plan to file the results with regulators; follow-up on overall survival continues.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation