The IAA One Minute Blog

A new melanoma vaccine has shown it can battle the deadly skin cancer in a new trial.

Vaccine Trial

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, with melanoma accounting for about one percent of skin cancer cases in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, it is still responsible for most skin cancer deaths.

People with advanced melanomas who received the vaccine plus the cancer drug Keytruda were 49 percent less likely to die or have their cancer return after three years than those who were only given Keytruda.

The findings were based on an ongoing randomized trial involving 157 patients with high-risk stage 3/4 melanoma who first had surgery to completely remove cancerous growths.

Patients received one milligram (mg) of the mRNA vaccine every three weeks, for a total of nine doses, along with 200 mg of Keytruda every three weeks for about a year. Their outcomes were compared to those using Keytruda alone for a year.

Skin Cancer Warning Signs

The most important warning sign of a melanoma is a new spot on the skin or a spot that is changing in size, shape or color.

The ABCDE rule is another guide to the signs of melanoma:

• A is for Asymmetry: One half of a mole or birthmark does not match the other.
• B is for Border: The edges are irregular, ragged, notched, or blurred.
• C is for Color: The color is not the same all over.
• D is for Diameter: The spot is larger than six millimeters across.
• E is for Evolving: The mole is changing in size, shape or color.   

About 97,610 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year, with nearly 8,000 deaths, the American Cancer Society says.

What IAA has to Say

Insurance Administrator of America is always glad when new breakthroughs occur. Stay tuned to IAA’s blog to keep up to date on the world of health!