A peptide-based cancer vaccine consisting of amino acid residues 26 through 35 of MART-1 (melanoma antigen recognized by T-cells-1) with a leucine substitution at amino acid position 27 to improve immunogenicity. Upon administration, MART-1:26-35(27L) peptide vaccine may induce a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response against MART-1-expressing tumor cells, resulting in decreased tumor growth. The tumor-associated antigen (TAA) MART-1 may be overexpressed on melanoma cancer cells. [ ]