AI Is Reshaping Medicine With Personalized Cancer Treatment

Artificial intelligence is changing the landscape of cancer treatment. AI is now being used to design therapies tailored to each patient's cancer. On August 19, Moderna and Merck announced positive topline results from a Phase 3 clinical trial of a personalized melanoma treatment.

The trial involved 1,137 patients with high-risk melanoma. Patients whose tumors had been completely removed by surgery received the investigational therapy intismeran autogene (development code V940, mRNA-4157) in combination with the cancer drug Keytruda, achieving the primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival. The trial also met its other primary endpoint, distant metastasis-free survival. According to the two companies, the results mark the first Phase 3 success for both an individualized neoantigen therapy and an mRNA-based cancer treatment.

At the heart of the approach is an algorithm. Researchers start with a patient's tumor tissue and analyze the mutations unique to that tumor. AI selects targets that help the immune system recognize the cancer, and based on this, an mRNA therapy encoding up to 34 neoantigens is created. Moderna said integrated AI algorithms were used throughout the development of V940. Even with the same type of cancer, each patient receives a therapy designed specifically for them.

However, what the two companies have released is only a summary-level result from the Phase 3 trial. The full data are set to be presented at an international medical conference and submitted to regulators, and the trial continues to track overall survival. The Phase 3 results show that AI-driven personalized cancer treatment is beginning to move beyond a research concept and build clinical evidence, though its application in real-world clinical settings will be determined through the regulatory approval process.