Vaccine for deadly skin cancer shows ‘groundbreaking’ results in clinical trial

New hope may be on the horizon for melanoma patients in the form of a novel skin cancer vaccine.

This week, Moderna announced that its new vaccine has shown promising results in clinical trials.

Among 157 patients with advanced melanoma, the vaccine led to "statistically significant improvement in survival before the cancer returned," according to a statement from Hackensack Meridian John Theurer Cancer Center in New Jersey, which has been participating in the clinical trials.

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In the study, the vaccine was used in combination with Merck’s immunotherapy drug, Keytruda.

"Keytruda is a checkpoint inhibitor, meaning it blocks an enzyme that the cancer cell uses to become invisible to the immune system," said Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, was not involved in the vaccine trials.

"Keytruda works well in certain kinds of highly mutagenic cancers, including melanoma, and there is often a very effective response," Siegel told Fox News Digital.

"But the cancer can then mutate away from the impact of the drug and once again become resistant to an immune response."

The patients who took the experimental mRNA vaccine along with Keytruda — all of whom previously had surgery to remove their cancer — saw a 44% reduction in the risk of death or recurring disease compared to those who did not take the vaccine, the companies said.

"This is truly game-changing, groundbreaking stuff," said Dr. Andrew Pecora, an oncologist and researcher at the Hackensack Meridian John Theurer Cancer Center, who has been involved in the clinical trials since they began.

Immunotherapy has been shown to be effective in about half of cancer patients, Pecora noted — but for the other half, the proteins of the tumor are not properly presented to the immune system to be recognized and killed.

"In those cases, the melanoma is kind of hiding out or it doesn't express proteins that well, so the immune system doesn't recognize the proteins as foreign," Pecora told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.

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The Moderna vaccine is "revolutionizing" the immune system’s ability to recognize and kill the melanoma, he said.

The vaccine, which Pecora described as "miraculous," is personalized to each patient’s specific tumor.

"You and I may have melanoma, but my melanoma may be very different than yours even though it looks exactly the same under the microscope, because the DNA changes that occurred in mine are different than yours," he told Fox News Digital.

That means a generic cancer vaccine wouldn’t work for everyone, Pecora said.

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With the new vaccine, the scientist takes a piece of the person's tumor and precisely determines what parts of the DNA of the tumor are mutated or changed, and then creates a personalized mRNA vaccine that targets those changed pieces of DNA, the doctor said.

"We can literally vaccinate the person against their tumor-specific proteins, overcoming one of the limitations of current immunotherapy," he said.

"The simultaneous use of an mRNA vaccine seems to show improved regression and remission of metastatic melanoma," Siegel said.

"I think this shows real promise for combined therapies."

The vaccine is now entering Phase 3 trials, as the researchers work to determine how and when it will receive FDA approval.

The trial participants have not reported any side effects other than what they experienced with immunotherapy, Pecora said.

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"It could be approved as soon as the next year or two," he predicted.

The hope is that this breakthrough will also be applied to other forms of cancer beyond melanoma.

The deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma is fast-growing and can spread to any organ. 

In 2023, nearly 187,000 Americans were expected to be diagnosed with melanoma, according to the Melanoma Research Foundation. 

More than 97,600 of those will be diagnosed with invasive melanoma, and 7,990 Americans are expected to die from the disease in 2023.

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Santa Claus reunites with the medical team who saved his life after a critical cardiac event

For a Texas cardiologist who recently saved Santa Claus’ life, Christmas came early when Kris Kringle stopped by the hospital to express his gratitude.

Dennis Vaughan, 74 — along with his wife ("Mrs. Claus") and their children and grandchildren — visited the helipad of Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston for a reunion with Dr. Anthony Estrera and the Life Flight crew who saved Vaughn’s life in September.

In keeping with the spirit of the season, Vaughan and his wife were all suited up for Christmas.

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Fox News Digital spoke with Vaughan, his wife and Dr. Estrera about the near-death experience, the life-saving measures taken by his care team — and the joyful reunion.

Vaughan, a retired welder, has been filling the role of Santa for the past several years.

He and his wife make regular visits to Christmas parties, churches, day cares and schools during the holidays.

"It really brings joy to the kids — to see their faces light up when Santa walks in," Vaughan told Fox News Digital. "It’s been really fun."

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Just before the start of the 2023 holiday season, Vaughan was about to head to a doctor’s appointment. But before they left the house, his wife found him seated with his head slumped over — he had passed out.

She called 911, and Vaughan was rushed to a local hospital, where it was determined that he’d had an aortic dissection, or a tear in the aorta, the largest artery in the body. 

The tear caused internal bleeding around Vaughan’s heart, putting him at risk of death.

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"They thought he had died because he was so pale and he was losing blood," Vaughan’s wife told Fox News Digital.

Doctors told her that Vaughan would have died within 30 minutes without immediate medical attention.

Recalling the incident through tears, Vaughan said, "If it had been my time to go, I had made my peace with God."

After the diagnosis, Vaughan was transported to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center by LifeFlight. 

Estrera, professor and chair at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular, performed emergency surgery and replaced the torn aorta with a graft — a procedure that he compared to a plumber replacing a broken section of pipe.

"It was an absolute team effort — everything had to work perfectly," Estrera told Fox News Digital.

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"He was hypertensive and in shock and every minute mattered," the doctor said. "We went straight from the helicopter pad to the operating room."

The dissection had caused bleeding into and around Vaughan’s heart, which is why he passed out.

"He had no blood flow going anywhere — so we had to operate as soon as possible to release the blood so that we could get some heart function back and then rebuild his aorta, which is the main pipe of the body."

Estrera was able to rebuild the portion of the aorta that had been dissected.

"If there had been even a moment’s delay, he wouldn't be with us," the doctor said. "Mr. Vaughan had a lot of angels looking after him that day."

Gazing ahead, Vaughan will need to manage his blood pressure, Estrera noted, as high pressure can affect the stress forces on the aortic wall. 

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Adhering to a healthy diet and avoiding smoking will also help prevent future heart events, the doctor said.

"He has no big restrictions — although he probably shouldn't be lifting 100-pound bags or anything like that," Estrera joked. "All in all, he can live a normal life."

Two months after Vaughan’s near-death experience, he and his wife had an emotional reunion with the medical team at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston on Wednesday.

Dressed in his Santa uniform, Vaughan hugged Estrera and the LifeFlight crew as he broke into tears. Mrs. Claus handed out homemade Christmas cookies to everyone.

Vaughan told Fox News Digital that he felt compelled to share his gratitude with the people who saved him.

"It was important for me to give thanks to them," he said.

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Vaughan and his wife are looking forward to a relaxing holiday with their two children and six grandchildren. 

They plan to return to the Santa circuit next year, after he’s had some time to rest and recover.

While aortic dissections are not as common as heart attacks, Estrera emphasized that they do happen. 

Although Vaughan’s initial doctors identified the diagnosis when he was brought in, the condition is often overlooked.

"The problem is people don't recognize it when folks are presenting with chest pain," Estrera said. 

"That's why it's so important to increase awareness of this situation. When someone's having chest pain, it's more often a heart attack, but you can't forget about the other diagnoses because the treatments are completely different."

The main risk factors for aortic dissection are high blood pressure, smoking and family history. 

"This runs in families 20% of the time," said Estrera. "That's why it's important to be aware of folks who may have a family history or have had a sudden death."

The doctor added, "If Mr. Vaughan [had] died and never gotten an autopsy, people would have just assumed it was a heart attack or stroke."

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Colorado measles case confirmed days after international traveler flew into Denver airport

Health officials have confirmed an international traveler who passed through Denver International Airport on Dec. 13 has tested positive for measles.

The adolescent, whose vaccination status is unknown, allegedly visited several Colorado counties, and has been in isolation since Dec. 18, health officials stated in a news release. 

"On Monday, Dec. 18, the adolescent went to Children’s Hospital Colorado’s Emergency Department at the Anschutz Medical Campus from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The hospital is notifying healthcare providers, patients and others who were in a similar area as the measles patient," the release said. 

Arapahoe County Public Health is leading the investigation and has been notifying people who may have been directly exposed, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE).

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The CDPHE also provided a timeline of when the adolescent was at the airport.

According to the timeline, the adolescent was at Denver International Airport from 4:30 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 13 with possible exposure to people moving through Concourse A, bridge security, baggage claim and the passenger pickup area, the release said. 

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The last confirmed case of measles in a Colorado resident before this was in January 2019, according to the state.

Denver International Airport was not immediately available for comment. 

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Study suggests Mediterranean diet could boost male fertility: 'Crucial role'

A new study from Italy found that the Mediterranean diet could have a beneficial effect on male fertility.

The study, published in the journal Food Science, explored the different causes of male infertility, pinpointing how diet plays a "crucial role in improving a man’s reproductive capacity."

The researchers suggested that an appropriate diet for men should include a diverse range of essential ingredients, similar to those found in the Mediterranean diet.

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The Mediterranean diet involves high amounts of vegetables and fruits that are "rich in detoxifying and antioxidant substances," the researchers noted in a discussion of the findings.

The study included 50 "sub-fertile" men who were provided with specific nutrition plans that consisted of 80% organic foods.

The plan also introduced whole grains and low glycemic load options (which have minimal impact on blood sugar levels), grass-fed meat and wild-caught seafood, and a daily intake of leafy greens and red fruits.

It also eliminated refined carbs and saturated fats in exchange for healthy fats like olive oil, avocado and nuts. 

Dairy products were reduced or eliminated.

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The men, who were ages 35 to 45, followed this diet for three months and were evaluated between Nov. 2020 and Oct. 2021.

Before the study, the pool of men exhibited "limited concern for food quality, rarely reading food labels and rarely purchasing organic products."

The men who stuck with the Mediterranean-inspired food plan saw a significant increase in testosterone levels, the study found.

In a subgroup of individuals who reduced their carb intake by 35%, sperm DNA fragmentation (damaged DNA) decreased with consumption of the modified diet.

"The male contribution to a couple's fertility is important and the findings of this study underscore the importance of dietary variation and the inclusion of organic foods in achieving this goal," the researchers wrote. 

"Specifically, adhering to a pre-conception Mediterranean diet that is low in carbohydrates and high in legumes, whole grains and green leafy vegetables, along with consuming 80% organic foods, was associated with improved testosterone levels and reduced sperm DNA fragmentation."

Although the study size was limited, the researchers said the findings "emphasize the significance of consuming quality food for physical and psychological well-being and suggest that it may serve as an achievable measure of human resilience against environmental insults."

Fox News Digital reached out to the study authors for additional comment.

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Registered dietitian and nutritionist Ilana Muhlstein, who is based in Los Angeles, told Fox News Digital she’s seen firsthand the beneficial impact nutrition can have on both male and female fertility.

"It’s amazing how even a moderate weight loss can make significant changes to a person’s hormone levels and ability to conceive," she said.

Other studies have shown how diets high in refined carbs and sugar can have negative effects on sperm health, Muhlstein mentioned.

"Additionally, following a Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, lean proteins, high-fiber carbohydrates and healthy fats may help reduce inflammation, which can benefit fertility," she added.

The study took the diet "one step further" by focusing on specifics like mostly organic food, frequent nuts and seafood, limited dairy, daily red fruit, three servings of green vegetables, and refined sugar and packaged food avoidance, Muhlstein pointed out.

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The "noteworthy" increase in testosterone levels could be due to the focus on organic foods, which contain fewer pesticides and pollutants and higher levels of bioactive compounds, she said.

"Diets rich in vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and antioxidants are critical for protecting sperm from oxidative stress and damage," the dietitian said. 

"Additionally, grass-fed meat, fish and organic eggs can contain higher levels of omega 3 DHA, which is found in the sperm tail and is associated with sperm motility," Muhlstein added.

The study also surveyed the benefits of lowering carb intake, which proved beneficial for weight and blood sugar control.

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The study was limited by including only men with a BMI range of 20 to 24, Muhlstein pointed out.

"I wish in the future that they would conduct this study with overweight and obese men, because I am sure the findings would have been even more significant," she said.

Dr. Reem Sabouni, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist at Houston Fertility Institute, called the study findings "interesting" in a response sent to Fox News Digital.

The Mediterranean diet "appears to positively influence male fertility," the doctor said.

"This aligns with our understanding of nutrition's role in overall health," she said. "For men with male factor infertility (MFI), adopting a Mediterranean-based diet could be a beneficial, non-invasive strategy to improve fertility health."

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These findings are "promising, potentially contributing to addressing the global decline in sperm counts," Sabouni told Fox News Digital.

Based on the study's evidence, the doctor recommended that men with MFI should switch to a Mediterranean-based diet.

"The diet's rich antioxidants and balanced nutrients likely play a key role in enhancing reproductive health," she added.

"[The study] underscores the importance of lifestyle and dietary factors in reproductive health, which [are] in our control."

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St. Louis nursing home closes without warning, surprising 170 residents and their families

The sudden closure of a Missouri nursing home on Dec. 15 has left 170 residents and their families surprised — with other ramifications as well.

The Northview Village Nursing Home in northern St. Louis abruptly ceased operations, according to local reports.

On Dec. 19, family members, care staff, and state and local politicians staged a protest of the nursing home’s closure and its apparent failure to pay employees, as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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Michele Waller, a receptionist at Northview prior to the closure, told a local news outlet that the owner of the nursing home had known about the closure but failed to disclose the information.

"From my understanding, they say [the owner] had known this for weeks already, probably months," Waller said.

Starr Bradford, a St. Louis woman whose mother was a resident of Northview Village for 20 years, said the facility did not notify her about the closure, she told Fox News Digital. 

She was alerted to the situation by a Facebook post from a family member of another resident.

"I had to physically go to the nursing home for answers and two employees cleaning out their office helped me out," Bradford told Fox News Digital in a text.

When she found her mother at a new nursing home, the director of that facility provided her with a letter that Northview Village had asked them to distribute.

"I hope everyone else found their loved ones as well, because this was terrifying," said Bradford.

Fox News Digital attempted to contact Northview Village, the nursing home that closed — but calls went unanswered.

Healthcare Accounting Services, the company that operates the nursing home, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that "we are not providing any statements at this time."

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The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which regulates the nursing home, was notified of the situation at around 4:15 p.m. on Friday, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital via email.

"The facility operators were working to implement their emergency evacuation plan, and local EMS assisted with the relocation of approximately 170 residents," the spokesperson said. "Our team remained on site monitoring the evacuation."

Northview Village was responsible for executing its emergency evacuation plan, the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

"They relocated the residents to at least 14 other facilities in the St. Louis metro area and worked to contact families," she said.

The final resident left the facility before 6 a.m. on Saturday, according to the spokesperson. 

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"Our team continued working through the weekend, following up with the receiving facilities to check in on the residents who had been transferred."

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services was informed that funding was not in place to pay workers on Friday, which caused the workforce issue, the same group said.

Superior Manor of Downtown Residential Care, another nursing home in the area, was reportedly one of the facilities that received the displaced residents.

When contacted by phone, an employee of Superior Manor confirmed to Fox News Digital that some of Northview Village’s residents were there.

"We have two sister facilities, and all together, we took in probably 30 of them," the employee said.

She also noted that the relocation was very stressful for the residents.

"They’re settling in, but it’s a process," she said.

An abrupt relocation can have significant mental and emotional impacts on seniors — particularly individuals with dementia, experts said.

"For those with dementia, the familiarity of their living environment and predictable routines can serve to help with their overall functioning," Dr. Carrie Ditzel, a clinical psychologist and director of geropsychology and neuropsychology at Baker Street Behavioral Health in New Jersey, told Fox News Digital. 

Stability creates a sense of comfort and predictability for aging seniors, Ditzel noted, which can help them manage deficits in skills or memory.

"If the sense of familiarity and predictability is not re-established successfully, the resident may experience things like confusion, behavioral changes and emotional unrest," she added.

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Amy Morin, a licensed clinical social worker in Florida who has helped seniors find assisted living facilities, agreed that a sudden relocation can be very stressful for a senior. 

"They may be disoriented, homesick and confused," she told Fox News Digital. "They may struggle to adjust to their new surroundings, especially if it wasn't their choice to make the move or they weren't involved in the process."

When residents feel that things are out of their control, they may experience emotional distress, said Morin.

"They may be anxious or fearful," she noted. "They may also ask questions about when they can go home and may not understand if their situation is permanent."

For someone with dementia, a sudden move can worsen symptoms, Morin warned.

"They may struggle to find their way around, may not understand where they are and may be confused by support staff," she said. "They may not recognize friends and family once they are out of their normal routines."

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Sleeping longer over the weekend could help prevent heart attacks, says study

Didn’t get enough sleep during the week? Take heart — catching up on shuteye over the weekend could provide the bonus of improved cardiovascular health, according to a new study published in the journal Sleep Health.

Researchers from Nanjing Medical University in China analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which compiled information from 3,400 U.S. adults ages 20 years and older between 2017 and 2018.

The survey gathered information on how long the participants slept on weekdays and weekends, as well as whether they had heart disease, high blood pressure and/or diabetes.

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The people who slept for at least one hour longer on weekends than weekdays were shown to have lower rates of cardiovascular disease — in particular, stroke, coronary heart disease and angina (chest pain due to reduced blood flow) compared to those who didn’t get catch-up sleep.

The reduced risk was most significant among those who got less than six hours of sleep on weekdays and slept for at least two extra hours on weekends.

"Sleeping less than six hours per night increases our risk of stress hormone release and increased heart attack and stroke," said Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor.

Siegel, who was not involved in the study, offered comment on the findings.

"The study found that you can make up for a sleep debt during the week and reset with more than two extra hours on the weekend, bringing your risk of heart disease back to baseline," he told Fox News Digital.

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"Though this is observational and not proof, I believe this finding is real, because more sleep brings your metabolism down to a lower level where the risks are lower," he added.

Fox News Digital reached out to the study author for additional comments.

Dr. Biquan Luo, a San Francisco sleep expert and CEO of LumosTech, which produces a smart sleep mask to promote healthy circadian rhythms, shared her reaction to the study findings. She was not involved in the research.

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"Under normal circumstances, when you are not sleep-deprived, a consistent sleep schedule helps maintain the body’s circadian rhythms, supporting higher-quality sleep, better energy and cardiometabolic health," Luo told Fox News Digital. 

"That's why sleep experts recommend not sleeping in during the weekend."

However, consistently lacking adequate sleep can cause chronic fatigue and increased risks for obesity and cardiovascular diseases, the expert pointed out. 

"In this case, catching up on sleep on the weekend is more beneficial for your health," she said.

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"It is important to note that making up sleep debt does not fully reverse the effects of chronic sleep deprivation," Luo added.

The Sleep Research Society and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend at least seven hours of sleep per night for adults.

Insufficient sleep has previously been linked to a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, high blood pressure and other diseases and conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Artificial intelligence experts share 6 of the biggest AI innovations of 2023: 'A landmark year'

If you received medical care any time this year, there’s a good chance you had a close encounter with artificial intelligence.

Widely regarded as the breakout year for AI, 2023 ushered in a whole crop of new and improved tech tools, many of which have impacted the health and wellness space.

"2023 has been a landmark year for AI in health care, witnessing groundbreaking advancements that have reshaped medical practices and paved the way for a future where health care is more personalized, efficient and accessible," Dr. Harvey Castro, a Dallas, Texas-based board-certified emergency medicine physician and national speaker on AI in health care, told Fox News Digital.

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Castro and other AI experts weighed in on some of the year's most important advancements for doctors and patients.

Below are six of the top innovations they cited.

Despite the lack of a formal regulatory framework governing its use, generative AI is being widely tested by medical professionals, noted Dr. Tinglong Dai, professor of operations management and business analytics at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in Baltimore, Maryland.

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"ChatGPT remains the best-known and most widely used generative AI tool among health care professionals in various activities aimed at reducing documentation burden and allowing clinicians to focus on their core activities," Dai told Fox News Digital.

"Johns Hopkins University has several ongoing research projects investigating the potential of using generative AI to reduce clinician burnout as a result of electronic medical records," he noted.

Released by OpenAI in Nov. 2022, ChatGPT exploded onto the health scene in 2023. 

The large language model affects everything from how patients get medical advice to how physicians communicate and keep records.

"ChatGPT has revolutionized health care communication by providing tools for personalized treatment plans and remote patient engagement," said Castro.

"For instance, it has been used to create interactive patient education materials, enhancing understanding and compliance."

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The AI chatbot has also sparked some skepticism, however, as its responses have sometimes been found lacking in accuracy and thoroughness.

"Human oversight remains indispensable, ensuring that AI tools like ChatGPT are used as supplements rather than replacements for professional medical judgment," Castro added.

In September of this year, researchers from the University College London team announced a "groundbreaking" AI model for disease detection using retinal images; the results were published in the journal Nature.

"This model, developed through self-supervised learning on 1.6 million unlabeled retinal images, excels in diagnosing and predicting both eye diseases and systemic disorders such as heart failure and myocardial infarction," Dai told Fox News Digital.

The model, called RETFound, marks a "significant advance in medical AI, providing a more efficient approach to disease detection through a foundation model," Dai added.

In another AI discovery, a U.S.-U.K.-Bangladesh study provided the first real-world evidence that autonomous AI can improve medical productivity, Dai noted.

The study, published in the Nature Group's npj Digital Medicine, showed a 40% increase in clinical productivity in diagnosing retinal disease in patients with diabetes.

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This was achieved using an FDA-cleared AI device to screen the patients as they entered the hospital. 

"The AI device allows clinicians to focus on the most complex patients," Dai said. "When adjusted for complexity, there is a 265% increase in productivity."

DALL-E 3 is an AI-based image generation model that was originally launched by OpenAI in January 2021.

As OpenAI describes it, "DALL-E 3 takes a text prompt as an input and generates a new image as an output."

In the health arena, Castro pointed out that DALL-E3 can create accurate medical illustrations from textual descriptions.

"This has been instrumental in medical education, providing visual aids for complex medical conditions and procedures," he told Fox News Digital.

There have also been advancements in AI-driven medical imaging, such as improved MRI technology, which have led to faster scanning times, enhanced image resolution and reduced radiation exposure, significantly improving diagnostic accuracy, Castro added.

Andre Esteva, CEO and co-founder of ArteraAI, a precision medicine company in California, described cancer research as "fertile ground for AI."

"We're using it to find hidden patterns in data, personalize treatment decision-making and help predict treatment benefit," he told Fox News Digital.

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AI is helping to speed up clinical trials and opening doors to new possibilities in health care, Esteva noted. 

"Imagine AI designing cancer treatments tailored to your unique genome — the possibilities are limitless."

AI-based medical devices continue to be strong, noted Dai of Johns Hopkins.

As of July 2023, 692 AI devices were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical use, a 33% increase from 2022.

"Approved devices now cover 19 specialties, although radiology remains the largest specialty, accounting for approximately three-quarters of approved devices," Dai told Fox News Digital. 

An AI report from the New England Journal of Medicine also highlighted the real-world use of these devices, showing their rapid growth.

Matt Mohebbi, head of AI and research at Brightside Health in New York, described 2023 as a "blockbuster year" for fundamental research in large language models for health care.

"Some of the biggest companies are competing with each other to produce state-of-the-art performance in medical benchmarks," he told Fox News Digital.

"While patients won’t be able to see the benefits of these findings in the doctor's office today, it is quite telling for what’s in store," Mohebbi went on. "The clinicians who embrace these technologies will very likely replace the clinicians who don’t."

The AI advancements of 2023 represent a "significant leap forward in integrating AI into health care," Castro told Fox News Digital.

"These innovations promise a future where health care is more personalized, efficient and accessible, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and a transformed health care landscape."

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