A trial of MAGE-A3 ASCI after surgery to remove melanoma (DERMA)
Cancer type:
Status:
Phase:
This trial was done to see if a vaccine can help stop melanoma coming back after surgery.
It was for people whose cancer had spread into skin, 
, or close to the melanoma. But it hadn’t spread elsewhere in the body.
The trial was open for people to join between 2008 and 2011. The team published the results in 2018. There is a link to more information in the ‘Summary of results’ section below.
More about this trial
Doctors usually treat stage 3B or 3C melanoma with surgery. But there is a risk that the melanoma can come back.
When this trial was done, some people had chemotherapy or interferon after surgery. This was to help stop the melanoma coming back.
In this trial, researchers looked at a treatment called MAGE-A3 ASCI. It is a type of . It helps the immune system recognise a protein called MAGE-A3 found on melanoma cells.
The people taking part in this trial were put into a treatment group at random:
- 2 out of every 3 people had the MAGE-A3 ASCI vaccine
- 1 out of every 3 people had a dummy drug (placebo)
The main aims of this trial were to:
- see if MAGE-A3 ASCI can help stop melanoma coming back
- learn more about the side effects
Summary of results
We aim to add a lay summary of results to all the trials on our database. Unfortunately we have not been able to include a summary for this one.
There is more information about the results in the link below.
Please note, the information we link to here is not in plain English. It has been written for healthcare professionals and researchers.
MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic as adjuvant therapy for patients with resected, MAGE-A3-positive, stage III melanoma (DERMA): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial
Prof Brigitte Dreno and others
Lancet Oncology, 2018. Volume 19, issue 7, pages 916 – 929.
Recruitment start:
Recruitment end:
How to join a clinical trial
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Chief Investigator
Dr Charles Kelly
Supported by
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
