Patients with advanced skin cancer in England will be able to access a new cancer vaccine, following the expansion of a world-leading NHS programme.

Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, accounting for around four per cent of new cancer cases. Analysis by Cancer Research UK shows that cases had increased by a third between 2009 and 2019.

The needle-free injection is given for up to two years and works by boosting the immune system’s response, helping it recognise cancer cells to stop the disease returning.

This new DNA vaccine, known as iSCIB1+, is not personalised to a patient’s tumour, but aims to improve the recognition of cancer cells by the immune system to boost response to immunotherapy.

The NHS has partnered with Scancell, the life-sciences company, to distribute the vaccine further across hospitals in England, with seven hospitals initially registered and more to follow. The first patients are expected in May 2025.

The trial is part of NHS England’s Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP), a world-first initiative to accelerate patients to studies developing vaccines against different cancers at their nearest participating hospital.

The phase two trial, known as SCOPE, is underway and the NHS CVLP intends to expand the number of patients taking part by recruiting dozens more by October.

NHS national cancer director professor Peter Johnson said: “Skin cancer can have a devastating impact and we know that cancer vaccines have the potential to revolutionise cancer care for patients in this country and across the world — and to save more lives.

“It’s incredibly exciting that the NHS is expanding its world-leading programme so more patients with different types of cancer could benefit from the development of new vaccines that could stop their cancer coming back.

“We want to ensure as many eligible NHS patients as possible have access to these vital trials, which is why we are working with a range of industry partners as more studies get up and running to ensure patients are fast-tracked to a vaccine that could transform lives.”