Home / Health / NHS Expands Pioneering Cancer Vaccine Trials for Head and Neck Tumors
NHS Expands Pioneering Cancer Vaccine Trials for Head and Neck Tumors
8 Aug
Summary
- NHS launching trials of personalized cancer vaccines for head and neck cancers
- Vaccines use mRNA technology, similar to COVID-19 jabs
- Trials aim to treat and prevent recurrence of aggressive head and neck cancers
In a significant development, the NHS is expanding its groundbreaking Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad program to include trials of personalized cancer vaccines for patients with head and neck tumors. The program, which has already been testing these vaccines in some 550 patients with bowel and skin cancers, will now recruit over 100 additional patients with mouth, throat, and other head-related cancers over the next 12 months.
The vaccines being used in the trials leverage the same mRNA technology that was pioneered for the COVID-19 jabs. The specific vaccine, known as AHEAD-MERIT (BNT113-01), is designed to help the immune system recognize and eliminate cancer cells containing human papillomavirus (HPV) proteins, which are commonly linked to head and neck cancers. These aggressive forms of the disease often have high rates of recurrence, with fewer than 50% of patients surviving beyond two years after diagnosis.
The NHS is partnering with German life sciences company BioNTech on this innovative program, which aims to provide patients with a potential cure for their cancer and prevent it from returning. Prof. Peter Johnson, NHS England's national clinical director for cancer, has described the vaccine as a "potentially transformative" advancement that offers "renewed hope of holding the disease at bay" for those affected by these deadly cancers.
