CHICAGO -- An investigational individualized vaccine for surgically resected melanoma demonstrated durable benefits in reducing the risks of recurrence and distant spread, 5-year follow-up of a randomized study showed.
Adding the mRNA vaccine intismeran autogene to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in resected stage IIIB-IV melanoma cut the risk of recurrence or death by 49% (HR 0.51, 95% CI 0.29-0.89) and the risk of distant metastasis or death by 59% (HR 0.41, 95% CI 0.20-0.84), reported Matteo Carlino, MD, PhD, of the University of Sydney.
At 4 years, absolute rates of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) with the addition of the neoantigen vaccine improved by roughly 20% compared with the PD-1 inhibitor alone:RFS: 72.4% vs 49.1%DMFS: 83.9% vs 65.4%
Differences in overall survival were not significant, but showed a favorable trend (HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.16-1.35), with 4-year rates of 92.2% and 85.6%, respectively.
"This study confirms that intismeran plus pembrolizumab demonstrates a durable benefit over pembrolizumab alone in resected high-risk melanoma," Carlino said here at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, adding that the combination had a favorable safety profile.
