Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis
Al-Qassam Brigades: A NIMR armored personnel carrier carrying an Israeli soldier was targeted with an Al-Yassin missile north of Khan Younis
Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes

Hopes for cancer cure as personal mRNA vaccine for melanoma trialled

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News Websites
  • 26 Apr 2024 16:53
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

Experts are currently studying new jabs that are custom-built for each patient and instruct their bodies to hunt out cancer cells to prevent the return of the disease.

  • x
  • Hopes for cancer cure as personal mRNA vaccine for melanoma trialled
    A nurse administers the third dose of an experimental breast cancer vaccine to patient Kathleen Jade at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle on May 30, 2023 (AP)

Physicians have begun testing the world's first personalized mRNA cancer vaccine for melanoma on a number of patients, with experts hailing its "game-changing" ability to irreversibly cure cancer. 

Melanoma affects around 132,000 individuals worldwide each year and is the leading cause of death from skin cancer. Currently, surgery is the primary treatment, however radiation, medications, and chemotherapy are occasionally employed.

Experts are currently studying new jabs that are custom-built for each patient and instruct their bodies to hunt out cancer cells to prevent the return of the disease.

A phase 2 experiment indicated that the immunizations significantly lowered the probability of cancer recurrence in melanoma patients. A final phase 3 experiment has been initiated, conducted by University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH).

MRNA therapy was administered to the first UK patients in February to evaluate the therapy’s safety and effectiveness in treating melanoma, lung cancer, and other solid tumors.

Dr. Heather Shaw, the trial's national coordinating investigator, indicated that the shots have the potential to cure melanoma and are being studied for other malignancies such as lung, bladder, and kidney.

Read more: Dr. Philip Salem: Lebanese architect of the cancer cure, ICTriplex

Shaw called the technology a “really finely honed tool," adding that the patients are "really excited about them."

Related News

Biden diagnosed with 'aggressive' prostate cancer

Senate report reveals Trump slashed cancer research by 31%

The vaccination is an individualized neoantigen treatment. It is meant to activate the immune system so that it can fight back against a patient's particular kind.

The mRNA-4157 (V940) vaccine, targets cancer neoantigens that are expressed by tumors in a specific patient. These are tumor-specific signals that the immune system may identify.

The jab contains code for up to 34 neoantigens and stimulates an anti-tumor immune response based on the specific mutations found in a patient's malignancy.

To personalize it, a tumor sample is extracted during the patient's operation, which is then sequenced using DNA and artificial intelligence. As a consequence, the patient receives a personalized anti-cancer vaccine tailored to his or her tumor.

“It is absolutely custom-built for the patient," Shaw cited. “They may have some shared new antigens, but they’re likely to have their own very individual new antigens that are important to their tumour and so, therefore, it is truly personalized.”

Shaw stated that the ultimate goal is to permanently cure people of cancer

According to Phase 2 data, persons with significant high-risk melanomas who received the jab alongside the immunotherapy Keytruda were nearly half (49%) as likely to die or have their disease return after three years as those who had only Keytruda.

Patients received 1mg of the mRNA vaccine every three weeks for a maximum of nine doses, followed by 200mg of Keytruda every three weeks (maximum of 18 doses) for approximately a year.

The phase 3 worldwide study will now encompass a broader variety of patients and seeks to enroll around 1,100 participants. The UK arm plans to enroll at least 60 to 70 patients across eight centers, including London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Leeds.

Steve Young, 52, of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, is one of the first patients to participate in the UCLH experiment. "I'm really, really excited," he remarked. "This is my best chance at stopping the cancer in its tracks."

  • Cancer
  • Cancer patients
  • cancer treatment
  • cancer research
  • mRNA
  • melanoma

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS