A breakthrough treatment for the deadliest form of skin cancer can cut a patient’s risk of recurrence or death nearly in half. 

The new scientific revelation is powered by an mRNA-based vaccine crafted with the technology behind both Pfizer and Moderna’s landmark Covid-19 shots. By using mRNA, the vaccine can be tailored to the genetic specifics of a specific patient’s skin cancer, fighting tumors much more effectively than generic traditional methods.

“For decades, cancer treatment has largely been defined by where a tumor originates in the body,” Melanoma Institute Australia Professor Georgina Long, the study’s principal author, wrote in the announcement. “The [clinical trial] findings support a fundamentally new and individualized approach to treating resected melanoma… one that tailors treatment to the unique mutational signature of a patient’s tumor to enhance an anti-tumor immune response.”

Pharmaceutical giants Merck and Moderna published the results on Thursday, demonstrating that an mRNA vaccine combined with infusions of the existing drug Keytruda lowered the risk of melanoma returning or a patient dying from their cancer by 42%. The vaccine, which has yet to be branded, is known as intismeran for now. The results of the clinical trial will be shared in full on Saturday in Spain with the European Society for Medical Oncology. The randomized Phase 3 trial involved 1,137 patients who had their melanoma removed through surgery but were at high risk for the cancer returning. 

In the trial, patients in the experimental group received treatment with intismeran combined with Keytruda, while patients in the control group received Keytruda paired with a placebo.

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