ASCO 2026 | The future of personalized vaccine strategies in solid tumors
Mark Yarchoan, MD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, highlights the development of personalized vaccine strategies, including an mRNA platform to target tumor neoantigens in the micrometastatic adjuvant space with a checkpoint inhibitor. Additional similar technologies with different platforms are under development. This interview took place during the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting in Chicago, IL.
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Transcript
I think the first major trial to explore this strategy is the Moderna phase three, which we may hear about even this year, which is, again, a personalized vaccine strategy with an mRNA platform. Right now, it takes about six to eight weeks to make a personalized vaccine. But I’m sure that the more we use this technology, the faster that it will get. But Moderna is not the only company working on this...
I think the first major trial to explore this strategy is the Moderna phase three, which we may hear about even this year, which is, again, a personalized vaccine strategy with an mRNA platform. Right now, it takes about six to eight weeks to make a personalized vaccine. But I’m sure that the more we use this technology, the faster that it will get. But Moderna is not the only company working on this. We have different platforms, DNA-based platforms, other RNA platforms, peptide-based platforms. They all have advantages and disadvantages. But I think Moderna is the first company to really explore targeting tumor neoantigens with a personalized vaccine in this sort of micrometastatic adjuvant space with a checkpoint inhibitor. They’ve put many pieces of the puzzle together, and it’s an eagerly awaited trial. The phase two looked very positive. The rate of recurrence was approximately half with the combo of vaccine plus PD-1 versus the control arm of PEMBRO, but that’s a phase two. And I think we’re all eagerly awaiting the phase three.
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