Teacher Recovers From Melanoma in mRNA Vaccine Trial — SkimNews
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- Merck and Moderna announced promising late-stage trial results in August for intismeran autogene, an mRNA cancer vaccine combined with immunotherapy, as a potentially powerful new way to fight tumors.
- Gary Keblish, a public schoolteacher diagnosed with high-risk melanoma in 2019, was randomized into the treatment arm of the trial combining Keytruda with the Merck/Moderna vaccine.
- Jeffrey Weber, deputy director of the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone and co-leader of its Clinical Melanoma Program, oversaw Keblish's treatment during the trial.
- Keblish developed neuropathy during treatment that limited his physical activity and clouded his judgment, though the side effects eventually resolved with time.
- Six years after his tumor was removed, Keblish remains teaching in the classroom and shared his experience virtually at the STAT Summit in Boston on Thursday.
Why it matters: Intismeran autogene, the Merck-Moderna mRNA cancer vaccine, was announced in August as showing promising late-stage trial results when added to immunotherapy. Keblish's continued teaching six years after his tumor removal offers clinicians and trial sponsors a concrete individual-patient counterpoint to the aggregate efficacy data that has dominated coverage.
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