Australia at the heart of 'transformational' cancer vaccine breakthrough

Key points

• A personalised cancer vaccine has cut the risk of melanoma recurrence and death by 42 per cent, according to an Australian-led phase 3 trial. Melanoma Institute Australia medical director Georgina Long said the result was higher than she expected.
• The treatment combines a vaccine made from each patient's tumour with the immunotherapy pembrolizumab after surgery. The trial included 1,137 patients across 157 sites worldwide, including several in Australia.
• Regulatory review could take several years, and the treatment is not yet available.