MONDAY, June 1, 2026 (NewsDay News) — For patients with resected high-risk melanoma, intismeran plus pembrolizumab showed clinical improvements in recurrence-free survival (RFS) and long-term metastatic survival (DMFS) in a study published online June 1. Journal of Clinical Oncology which coincides with the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which was held in Chicago from May 29 to June 2.
Adnan Khattak, MD, Ph.D., of Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia, and colleagues examined the efficacy and safety of intismiran plus pembrolizumab in resectable high-risk melanoma after five years of follow-up. Adults with resected stage IIIB to IV cutaneous melanoma were randomly assigned to receive nine doses of intramuscular intismeran 1 mg plus 18 doses of pembrolizumab 200 mg or 18 doses of pembrolizumab 200 mg alone (107 and 5, respectively).
The researchers found that the hazard ratios for RFS and DMFS were 0.510 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.294 to 0.887) and 0.411 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.200 to 0.843), respectively. In most primary subgroups analyzed, including biomarkers of immune checkpoint inhibitor response, RFS and DMFS results favored intismeran plus pembrolizumab. The overall survival hazard ratio was reduced but did not reach statistical significance (hazard ratio, 0.471; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.165 to 1.345). The safety profile was well controlled, consistent with previous analyses. Increased T-cell receptor clonality and novel clonotypes were observed with intismeran plus pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab alone.
“Our study in melanoma patients provides strong evidence that intismiran vaccine treatment, when used in combination with immunotherapy, can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and improve clinical outcomes,” said senior author Janice M. Mehnert, MD, of NYU Langone Health in New York, said in a statement.
The research was supported by Moderna and Merck, which develops intismeran.
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