Key Highlights:
- Patients receiving treatment for bowel cancer at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will have the chance to try personalised 'vaccines' thanks to the launch of a NHS “matchmaking” service.
- The landmark Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad aims to recruit thousands of patients across England into various trials for trials of a new form of immunotherapy.
- The personalised cancer vaccines will be created from specific mutations found in a patient’s DNA and will be developed once patients after a cancer diagnosis has been made, with the specific aim of preventing the cancer from returning.
Patients receiving treatment for bowel cancer at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will have the chance to try personalised 'vaccines' thanks to the launch of a NHS “matchmaking” service.
The landmark Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad aims to recruit thousands of patients across England into various trials for trials of a new form of immunotherapy, commonly referred to as cancer vaccines.
NHS
The personalised cancer vaccines will be created from specific mutations found in a patient’s DNA. Unlike traditional vaccines, they will be created once patients after a cancer diagnosis has been made, with the specific aim of preventing the cancer from returning. This will be achieved by analysing the unique biological features of a patient’s tumour.
The vaccines will then create an immune ‘memory’ to recognise and eliminate cancer cells to prevent the cancer from returning after surgery or chemotherapy.
Initially, only a small number of eligible patients from Sheffield will be invited to join the first colorectal cancer vaccine trial, which is being conducted at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, as well as other locations nationwide.
As the programme grows, more cancer vaccine trials are set to open.
Weston Park Cancer Centre is one of 30 sites across the UK participating in the programme, which is one of the biggest projects of its kind in the world.
Dr. Alice Dewdney, consultant clinical oncologist, Weston Park Cancer Centre, said: “We’re really excited to be part of this landmark programme. Whilst only a handful of patients are set to benefit from the initial bowel cancer vaccine trial, this 'matchmaking’ platform provides a huge opportunity for our patients to try out a new generation of vaccines individualised to their DNA.
"Being part of the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad will also act as a stepping stone for us to bring our own cancer vaccine trials to Weston Park Cancer Centre in the near future to the benefit of patients in Sheffield and beyond.”
Patients with stage 2 or 3 rectal cancer, or stage 3 colon cancer, who have had their tumour surgically removed but still have circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in their blood, will be screened for the trial. Eligible patients will then have tumour samples sent to the laboratories for analysis. Patients meeting the criteria will then be put forward to test the vaccines in the initial colorectal cancer vaccine trial.
The programme is being run by the Cancer Clinical Trials Centre at Weston Park. The Centre is currently celebrating its 25th year. Its work is supported by Weston Park Cancer Charity.