‘Landmark moment’ for cancer patients as thousands to receive personalised vaccines in NHS trial

31 May 2024, 06:07 | Updated: 31 May 2024, 06:09

Thousands of NHS cancer patients in England will get personalised vaccines over the next year to help fight their disease in what has been described as a ‘landmark’ moment for treatment.

The vaccines prime the immune system to recognise and destroy any remaining cancer cells to reduce the chances of the disease returning.

So far, 30 hospitals have signed up for the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, which will match hospital patients with clinical trials using mRNA technology.

Early results of the vaccine, made by BioNTech, will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual conference on Friday.

Dozens of patients have started receiving the vaccines and thousands are expected to enrol by 2026.

Father-of-four and Coventry University lecturer Elliot Pfebve, 55, is the first patient to have been treated with a personalised vaccine against bowel cancer in England.

Speaking of the trial vaccine, Mr Pfebve said: "Through the potential of this trial, if it is successful, it may help thousands, if not millions, of people, so they can have hope and may not experience all I have gone through. I hope this will help other people."

Mr Pfebve already had surgery and chemotherapy but decided to sign up for the trial after tests showed he still had fragments of cancerous DNA in his bloodstream - putting him at risk of the disease recurring.

Chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the NHS was in a “unique position to deliver this kind of world-leading research at size and scale.”

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She said: “Seeing Elliot receive his first treatment as part of the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad is a landmark moment for patients and the health service as we seek to develop better and more effective ways to stop this disease.

“Thanks to advances in care and treatment, cancer survival is at an all-time high in this country, but these vaccine trials could one day offer us a way of vaccinating people against their own cancer to help save more lives.”

Currently, the cancer trials include melanoma, prostate, head and neck cancers and bowel.

Doctors hope to test similar vaccines for cancers such as breast and lung on UK patients.

People who wish to take part will have a blood test and tissue sample taken. If they are eligible, they will be referred to the nearest NHS hospital involved in the scheme.

Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer at the NHS, 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."