Thousands of cancer patients in England are set to gain fast-tracked access to trials of personalised cancer vaccines following the launch of an NHS trial “matchmaking” service to help find new life-saving treatments.
The health service announced it has treated its first patient in England with a personalised vaccine against their bowel cancer, in a clinical trial as part of NHS England’s Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad.
Father-of-four Elliot Pfebve has received the developmental jab at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, one of several sites taking part in the colorectal cancer vaccine trial sponsored by BioNTech SE.
The German biotechnology company will tomorrow (1 June) present new preliminary data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual conference in Chicago on how measuring circulating tumour DNA could potentially help early detection of colorectal cancer.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS 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.
“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.”
The vaccine trial is one of several that will be taking place in NHS trusts across the country to treat different types of cancer.
Patients who agree to take part have a sample of their cancer tissue and a blood test taken. If they meet a clinical trial’s eligibility criteria, they can be referred to their nearest participating NHS site, meaning patients from hospitals across the country will find it easier than ever to take part in groundbreaking research.
The investigational cancer vaccines evaluated in the colorectal cancer trial are based on mRNA – the same technology used for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine – and are created by analysing a patient’s tumour to identify mutations specific to their own cancer.
Using this information, medics then create an experimental individualised cancer vaccine.
Thirty hospitals in England have signed up to the pioneering Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad with more sites joining the platform over the coming months.
The scheme aims to expand and work with a range of partners in the pharmaceutical industry to include patients across many cancer types who could potentially join a vaccine trial, such as those with pancreatic and lung cancer.
