The Intelligence from The Economist
The Intelligence from The Economist

Big shot: does a cancer vaccine work?

August 27, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Big shot: does a cancer vaccine work?

In early 2023, Steve Young, a musician living in Hertfordshire, England, learned he had a T4 nodular melanoma — an aggressive form of skin cancer. Doctors removed the tumor and then offered him something that wouldn't have been possible a year earlier: a spot in a clinical trial for a personalized mRNA vaccine made by Moderna, the same company that developed a COVID-19 vaccine. "If you just do the immunotherapy, there's a 40% chance that your cancer will come back within the next seven years," doctors told him. "If you do the trial and you get the actual drug, there's a 12% chance that your cancer will come back in seven years." Steve took the odds. In 2024, he became the first person in the world to receive the vaccine. Now three years into a seven-year trial, his scans remain clear. Preliminary results have been called a "landmark moment" and a "potential watershed" — but the story of how we got here, and how far we still have to go, is more complicated than the headlines suggest.

How a cancer vaccine works — and why it took so long

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:46) **Patient Story: Steve's Melanoma Diagnosis** - Steve Young describes being diagnosed with a T4b nodular melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer, and the overwhelming experience of receiving cancer information booklets.
  • 2 (04:27) **The Long History of Cancer Vaccine Failures** - Natasha Loder, The Economist's health editor, explains that cancer vaccines are an old idea in oncology that has largely failed for decades, despite billions of dollars in investment.
  • 3 (05:37) **Why Earlier Cancer Vaccines Failed** - Natasha explains the key reasons past cancer vaccines didn't work, including picking the wrong protein targets and tumors evolving to evade a single target.
  • 4 (07:00) **How the Personalized mRNA Vaccine is Made** - Natasha describes the cutting-edge process of creating a personalized vaccine, which was impossible just five years ago.
  • 5 (08:08) **Context and Remaining Questions About the Trial** - Natasha cautions that while the early results are promising, we still don't know if the vaccine improves overall survival, or if side effects caused many patients to drop out.
  • 6 (09:39) **Can This Approach Treat Other Cancers?** - Natasha explains that the mechanism paves a path for treating other tumors, with trials already underway for a variety of cancers.
  • 7 (10:42) **Patient Steve's Reaction to the News** - Steve reflects on the positive news, saying he wasn't expecting any feedback for seven years and is just going to carry on with his life.

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Show Notes

Personalised vaccines could offer a breakthrough in the fight against cancer. Our correspondent analyses the latest trial. Canada’s oil market is flourishing, despite the trade war. And, why we will always love Dolly Parton.


Guests and host:

  • Natasha Loder, health editor
  • Sarah Lawrynuik, deputy editor of “The Intelligence”
  • Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
  • Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”


Topics covered: 

  • Cancer, immunotherapy, vaccines, mRNA
  • Oil, Canada, trade war, tariffs
  • Dolly Parton, country music


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