Trials of personalised cancer vaccines will take place in the UK, involving thousands of patients as part of an NHS “matchmaking” scheme to save lives.
It is hoped that the jabs could provide a permanent cure for cancer. The head of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, described the launch as a “landmark moment” for patients.
“The NHS is in a unique position to deliver this kind of world-leading research at size and scale,” she said.
“As more of these trials get up and running at hospitals across the country, our national matchmaking service will ensure as many eligible patients as possible get the opportunity to access them,” Pritchard added.
Prof Peter Johnson, NHS England’s national clinical director for cancer, said: “We know that even after a successful operation, cancers can sometimes return because a few cancer cells are left in the body, but using a vaccine to target those remaining cells may be a way to stop this happening.
“Access to clinical trials could provide another option for patients and their families, and I’m delighted that through our national launch pad we will be widening the opportunities to be part of these trials for many more people, with thousands of patients expected to be recruited in the next year.”
Elliot Pfebve, 55-year-old lecturer at Coventry University, is the first patient to join the NHS scheme. Pfebve had no symptoms of colorectal cancer, and received his diagnosis after a routine GP check-up. A 30cm tumour of his large intestine was found and removed, and he underwent chemotherapy.
Pfebve then received his tailored cancer vaccine. It was created with the same mRNA technology used to create the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine.
“Through the potential of this trial, if it is successful, it may help thousands, if not millions of people, so they can have hope,” Pfebve said. “I hope this will help other people.”
It is too early to say if Pfebve has been cured completely, but doctors are "hopeful".
What is the cancer vaccine?
The new cancer vaccine scheme is the first of its kind in the world. The jabs are tailored to each patient's individual tumours in just a few weeks. The jabs tell the body to find and kill any cancer cells and prevent the disease from coming back.
Patients must meet the eligibility criteria and agree to have a blood test and sample of their cancer tissue analysed. After this, they will be entered for clinical trials for the new vaccines.
Though research is still in the early stages, trials have already been shown to be effective at killing off tumour cells left after surgery and dramatically cutting the risk of cancer returning.
The scheme, named the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, has dozens of patients enrolled, with thousands more to be enlisted at 30 NHS sites across England.
Colorectal, skin, lung, bladder, pancreatic and kidney cancer, are some forms of the disease the scheme is focusing on. Other types of cancer could be added in the future.
The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco) in Chicago, will take place this week, bringing together oncologists, health researchers and scientists.
The German biotech company BioNTech, one of the companies working with the NHS on the trials, will present new data on how measuring circulating tumour DNA could help doctors detect colorectal cancer earlier.
Iain Foulkes, the executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, described the jabs as “incredibly exciting”.
“Clinical trials like this are vital in helping more people live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer,” he said.
