Melanoma accounts for a small number of skin cancer diagnoses in the U.S. but causes the most deaths from the disease and new research suggests an mRNA vaccine could help change that.

The American Cancer Society says those who survive melanoma are also more likely to develop it again. Results of a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine given after tumors are surgically removed cut the risk of melanoma death or recurrence by 49 percent when combined with immunotherapy.

Dr. Rajesh Muralee Nair, a surgical oncologist with Orlando Health, called the new research at New York University "a huge breakthrough."

"The mainstay of melanoma treatment is immune-based therapy," Nair said. "It really revolutionized the outcomes for patients with advanced-stage disease, but unfortunately, a large number will still face recurrence and ultimately death."

mRNA technology was first FDA-approved for emergency use in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic but has been studied for decades. Nair says current immunotherapy treatments allow the immune system to recognize cancer cells, but those cells can change.

He says the research is showing that adding the experimental mRNA vaccine can identify a unique pattern in each patient's tumor.

"It's designed to allow our immune system to identify parts of the cancer cells in multiple different ways to attack it," Nair said, "and thus develop kind of a really unique and individualized treatment for that specific patient."