(BPT) - As cancer research continues to move forward, scientists are increasingly recognizing that cancer is not the same for everyone. Even people with the same diagnosis can have very different experiences. This realization is shifting thinking away from one-size-fits-all treatment approaches and toward a better understanding of what makes each person's cancer unique.

By learning more about the genetic makeup of a person's tumor, researchers can begin to see those differences more clearly and use them to guide future scientific and clinical advances.

A Novel Approach

Merck and Moderna are working together to explore an innovative approach to cancer care - one that seeks to address each individual's cancer with a "one medicine for one patient" mindset. This research centers on an individualized neoantigen therapy (INT) approach, which is designed with the intent to train and activate a patient's immune system to specifically identify and then destroy cancer cells.

Every person's tumor has a distinct "fingerprint" made up of mutated genes resulting in abnormal proteins, called neoantigens. An INT, leveraging mRNA as the body's instruction-carrying molecule, could help train a patient's immune cells to recognize these cancer "fingerprints" as foreign and potentially launch an immune response against those cancer cells to help their own body fight back.

"Because the genetic makeup of a patient's cancer is unique to that person, we believe there is a need for innovative therapies that can be tailored to a patient's tumor with the potential to enhance immune surveillance for each person's specific cancer," said Dr. Vassiliki Karantza, Associate Vice President, Global Clinical Development, Merck Research Laboratories.

Using these insights, researchers identify genetic mutations of a patient's cancer by performing an analysis of their blood and tumor samples to select which neoantigens may be best suited to activate the patient's immune cells. An INT is then created with the intent to specifically treat the individual patient's cancer.

"Our teams are working relentlessly to explore this new approach, which is grounded in the fact that every patient's cancer has unique features," said Dr. Michelle Brown, Head of Oncology Portfolio Development at Moderna. "Made possible by mRNA technology, this approach could represent a shift toward more personalized care in cancer, where we design therapies based on each patient's specific biology - moving us toward creating one medicine for one patient."

Research Underway

Researchers are currently conducting studies to better understand how INTs may help train the body's immune system. There are currently no U.S. FDA-approved individualized neoantigen therapies.

For more information about ongoing research in cancer, visit: Merck.com or Moderna.com.

This information is provided by Merck and Moderna.

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