World-first personalised cancer vaccine slashes risk of death and disease returning

Tony Chapman had a melanoma removed from his chest following his diagnosis and took part in the trial after later finding his cancer had spread - (Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)

A personalised cancer vaccine given alongside a widely used immunotherapy drug can cut the risk of patients dying or skin cancer returning by 42 per cent in what has been hailed a “major breakthrough”.

The phase three trial of the mRNA jab coupled with immunotherapy, which tracked more than 1,100 patients, found it reduced the risk of melanoma — the most aggressive form of skin cancer causing about 2,600 deaths a year in the UK — spreading by 38 per cent over two years compared to the use of immunotherapy alone.