Moderna ⁠and Merck said on Tuesday their experimental vaccine for a serious type of skin cancer, when used with Keytruda, reduced the ‍risk of recurrence or death ‍by 49% in a mid-stage trial based on five years of ⁠follow up.

Special: 5 Signs You'll Get Cancer and How to Stop It! Read More Here . . . Read More!

The improvement in recurrence-free survival was consistent with data reported at ​the three-year mark in 2023.

The vaccine, called intismeran autogene, was being tested in patients with ‍high-risk melanoma who had their tumors surgically removed. ⁠It is designed specifically for each patient based on the unique genetic signature of their tumor.

The treatment works by training ⁠the immune ​system to recognize and ⁠attack cancer cells. When given with Keytruda, ‍an immunotherapy drug that removes brakes on the immune ‌system, the combination aims to both activate and sustain the body's cancer-fighting response.

Moderna and ⁠Merck are ​now running ‍eight larger studies testing the combination treatment in different types of ‍cancer, including lung, bladder and kidney.