Melanoma cancer vaccine with minimal side effects nearing Phase 3 in clinical trials, according to experts.

Each shot would be completely personalized to the patient.

…

Wagner’s TLPO cancer vaccine has been tested in hundreds of patients with advanced forms of melanoma in Phase 2 clinical trials.

The most recent data presented at an academic conference showed nearly 95% of people given only the vaccine were still alive three years after starting treatment and 64% were still disease-free. Among the most advanced forms of melanoma, disease-free survival after three years for people with stage III disease was 60% in the vaccine-only group, compared to about 39% in the placebo group. Disease-free survival for those with stage IV disease was about 68% in the vaccine-only group, and zero in the placebo group.

The most common side effects were redness or pain at the injection site, fever and fatigue after the injection – similar to other vaccines that stimulate an immune response.

  • TardisBeaker@lemmy.world
    443·
    8 months ago

    They make it sound as if this is new, but this method has been studied for decades… My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in Jan of 2013. He happened to get into clinical trials that basically had him “living with cancer” for 5 years. It wasn’t until the last few months that the cancer outpaced the drugs and took over, invading his brain, then it was only a matter of a very short time before the brain cancer ruptured & killed him. But prior to that, he got 5 years. The drugs he was on??? Targeted immunotherapy including a lot of mRNA vaccine therapy. (Turns out he was a guinea pig for the technology that would be used in Covid vaccines. He always hoped his clinical trials would help future patients, he just had no idea how far reaching that would really be.)

    The problem is, cancer is in essence a mutation machine, which means it quickly outpaces our ability to create the vaccines. I think we’ll get there; just going to take a while before we learn how to keep up.

  • Szymon@lemmy.caEnglish
    22·
    8 months ago

    I know it’s for scientific purpose and all, and they signed off on it, but what a bum fucking deal to get a placebo in that stage 4 group.

    • TardisBeaker@lemmy.world
      18·
      8 months ago

      A lot of times they don’t do placebo once the trial gets to that stage. My dad with cancer was a treatment guinea pig & one of the study stipulations was that they wouldn’t get placebo. Too cruel to get their hopes up. ETA: I know this one states it had placebo group. And I understand the reason for it, obviously. Just saying my dad’s experience was they promised no placebo group bc it was so late stage in testing.

    • lightnegative@lemmy.world
      11·
      8 months ago

      It could’ve gone the other way with worse outcomes for the medicine group.

      In that case, you might want to be in the placebo group.

      Either way it’s a gamble

    • Tvkan@feddit.de
      6·
      8 months ago

      In later trials, drugs aren’t compared against placebo, but a standard therapy regimen.

  • BigMacHole@lemm.ee
    38·
    8 months ago

    But how will Hospital CEOS and Pharma CEOs make money if they Cure Cancer instead of just Treat Cancer?

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      4·
      8 months ago

      Hospital CEOs don’t have a say in this and there will also still be a need for hospitals even if there is no cancer.