NHS England announced in May 2024 that “thousands” of cancer patients across the country will get “fast-tracked” access to trials of personalised cancer vaccines through a new “matchmaking” service: the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP). The CVLP is platform intended to accelerate access to mRNA vaccine trials for people who have been diagnosed with cancer. The platform assesses patients who are receiving treatment in the NHS to see if they are eligible to join a cancer vaccine clinical trial, before referral to a hospital running the trial.
“This collaboration, initially with pharmaceutical company BioNTech, is a significant step towards realising the potential of these personalised vaccines in cancer treatment, in the hope of transforming patient outcomes in the future.”
First patient treated
The first patient has been treated with a personalised vaccine against bowel cancer through a clinical trial with CVLP. Elliot Phebve was given a vaccine at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, a site that is participating in a colorectal cancer vaccine trial sponsored by BioNTech. Mr Phebve, a higher-education lecturer, was reportedly diagnosed through a routine health check with his GP despite having no cancer symptoms.
After confirmation that he had colon cancer, Phebve had surgery to remove the tumour and a section of his large intestine. He was then referred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham for initial chemotherapy and participation in the trial. He commented that “taking part in this trial tallies with my profession as a lecturer, and as a community-centred person”, who wants to “impact other people’s lives positively”.
“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.”
How it works
The trial is one of several across the country that are tackling different types of cancer. Patients who agree to have a sample of their cancer tissue and a blood test taken can be assessed for clinical trial eligibility. If eligible, they can be referred to the nearest participating NHS site to take part in “groundbreaking” research. Thirty hospitals in England have already signed up to the CVLP, with more to join over the next few months.
In the colorectal cancer trial, the investigational cancer vaccines are based on mRNA and developed to target specific mutations for each participant’s cancer. They are designed to induce an immune response to prevent cancer from returning after surgery. These vaccines are being developed by BioNTech and Genentech and have not yet been approved by regulators.
A landmark moment
NHS chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, described this as a “landmark moment for patients and the health service”.
“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.”
Pritchard suggests that the NHS is “in a unique position to deliver this kind of world-leading research at size and scale”.
“As more of these trials get up and running at hospitals across the country, our national match-making service will ensure as many eligible patients as possible get the opportunity to access them.”
Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer at the NHS, recognised that “even after a successful operation” there is a chance that cancers can return “because a few cancer cells are left in the body”. However, using a vaccine to “target those remaining cells” could prevent this.
“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.”
Dr Victoria Kunene is Principal Investigator for the trial at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and Consultant Clinical Oncologist. Although it is “too early yet to say” if these individualised investigational vaccines will be successful, “we are extremely hopeful”.
‘Based on the limited data we currently have of the in-body response to the vaccine, this could prove to be a significant and positive development for patients, but more data is yet needed and we continue to recruit suitable patients to the trial to establish this further.”
Iain Foulkes, Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, is “incredibly” excited by this progress.
“This technology pioneers the use of mRNA-based vaccines to sensitise people’s immune system and in turn detect and target cancer at its earliest stages. Clinical trials like this are vital in helping more people live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer. If successful, the vaccine will be a game changer in preventing the onset or return of bowel cancer.”
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