Study: Moderna, Merck vaccines could cut melanoma's recurrence by 44 percent
There could be light at the end of the tunnel for individuals battling melanoma cancer. CBS News reported that researchers conducted a study to develop a "potential skin cancer vaccine" from Merck and Moderna, and found some promising results.
According to Reuters, a combination of Moderna's experimental melanoma vaccine and Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda "cut the risk of skin cancer's recurrence or death by 44 percent compared with Keytruda alone in a mid-stage trial."
Moderna's trial shot uses the same mRNA vaccine technology that has played an integral role in the success of COVID-19 vaccines, and the combination with Keytruda "has the capacity to be a new paradigm in the treatment of cancer," Paul Burton, Moderna's chief medical officer said in an interview.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There were 157 melanoma patients involved in the ongoing clinical trial, and researchers noted side effects in 14.4 percent of the patients who received the drug-vaccine combo compared to 10 percent of people who were only administered Keytruda, writes Reuters.
CBS notes that the shares of both the pharmaceutical and biotech companies increased on Tuesday after researchers reported a positive outcome of the shots midway through the study.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelsee Majette has worked as a social media editor at The Week since 2022. In 2019, she got her start in local television as a digital producer and fill-in weather reporter at NTV News. Kelsee also co-produced a lifestyle talk show while working in Nebraska and later transitioned to 13News Now as a digital content producer.
-
The lab-made meat that 'could kill the EU'
Under The Radar Concerned at 'unintended consequences for farming' some farmers are 'turning rabid' over the rise of cultured meat
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Magazine solutions - August 2, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 2, 2024
By The Week Staff Published
-
Magazine printables - August 2, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 2, 2024
By The Week Staff Published
-
10 recent scientific breakthroughs
In Depth From cell reparation to reef restoration
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The difficult job of defining a species
The Explainer Though taxonomy is hundreds of years old, scientists are still striving to create a universal and easily understood system
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Orangutan heals cut with medicinal plant
Speed Read A Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia has been self-medicating to heal a wound on his cheek
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Blind people will listen to next week's total eclipse
Speed Read While they can't see the event, they can hear it with a device that translates the sky's brightness into music
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why the Y chromosome is vanishing and what this means for the future
The Explainer A new sex gene could be on the evolution pipeline
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
An amphibian that produces milk?
speed read Caecilians, worm-like amphibians that live underground, produce a milk-like substance for their hatchlings
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jupiter's Europa has less oxygen than hoped
speed read Scientists say this makes it less likely that Jupiter's moon harbors life
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published