A vaccine consisting of recombinant vaccinia virus, based on the modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA), that encodes the melanoma-associated antigen tyrosinase. Vaccination with vaccinia-tyrosinase may stimulate the host immune system to mount a cytotoxic T-cell response against tumor cells expressing tyrosinase. Tyrosinase is a melanoma-specific differentiation agent that catalyzes the synthesis of the melanin precursor L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA).