> A primary investigator on the study, oncologist Prof Georgina Long, said the average risk of recurrence after surgery for the cohort of advanced cancer patien

> A primary investigator on the study, oncologist Prof Georgina Long, said the average risk of recurrence after surgery for the cohort of advanced cancer patients was 50%. The world's most terrifying coin flip. Especially as melanoma kills when it spreads to other tissues -- like the brain and lungs. If you're on the wrong end of that coin flip, and the recurrence comes up in a bad spot, you're in serious trouble. There are many cancers -- like thyroid cancer -- that are rarely fatal at their site of origin. They kill when they recur in distant tissues. Anything to reduce the odds of recurrence in such cancers can have outsized positive effects on mortality. > The vaccine and the Keytruda brought the risk of recurrence down to 25%, Long said. However, she cautioned the results were a “signal” with a larger trial needed to evaluate the true impact better. This is an outstanding result, and one hopes that it can also extend to other types of cancer. There's really no reason to delay offering cancer sufferers that treatment, even if the benefit is only a "signal."