Merck and Moderna's Cancer Vaccine Breakthrough

Merck and Moderna's breakthrough with a personalized cancer vaccine has opened up new avenues for treatment, according to doctors.

The vaccine, which trains the immune system to target specific mutations found only on a person's tumor, was successful in preventing the return and spread of disease in over 1,000 melanoma patients who had localized tumors removed surgically but were at high risk of recurrence.

Dr. Ryan Sullivan, director of the Center for Melanoma at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, called it a 'big deal' for the field, saying there is hope and likely investment to follow that these approaches may change the way we treat cancer more broadly.