Black Spot?

Melanoma is a form of skin cancer, that kills circa 132,000 people globally each year. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines now seem to offer personalised cancer vaccine treatments for melanoma sufferers. A sample of tumour is surgically removed from the patient. This is then DNA sequenced and Artificial Intelligence used to identify the sample's neoantigens. Neoantigens are markers on tumour cells, that can be potentially recognised by the patient's immune system. Custom-built mRNA vaccines, coding for up to 32 neoantigens, can then be produced for each patient. These are given, along side Keytruda immunotherapy (a booster for the immune system). In theory, cancer cells can be recognised and destroyed anywhere in the patient's body. Preliminary data appears very promising and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is about to enter Phase 3 (final tests, before therapy is approved) trials. Throughout the UK, selected NHS hospitals, will produce data on more than a thousand patients for a full evaluation (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/26/cancer-mrna-vaccine-melanoma-trial). mRNA vaccines, of course, came to prominence as providing treatments for Covid19 infections. Personalised mRNA vaccines are also being tested for lung, bladder and kidney cancers. It seems the way to go but it won't come cheap! Early diagnosis is important for even such hi-tech therapies to work.