Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is recruiting patients for the first large-scale trial of its kind, with high hopes that personalized injections could change that. The first patient is a university lecturer, 55 years old, diagnosed with cancer, he writes theguardian.
A vaccine against cancer, tested PHOTO: Archive, Adevărul
What are cancer vaccines?
Cancer vaccines are a form of immunotherapy. Unlike vaccines that protect against an infection, such as the Covid-19 vaccine, cancer vaccines treat people who already have the disease. They are designed to help the patient's immune system recognize and then kill cancer cells – and prevent them from coming back.
How are cancer vaccines made?
Vaccines are custom built for each person, usually in just a few weeks. To do this, a sample is taken from the patient's tumor during surgery, followed by DNA sequencing and, in some cases, the use of artificial intelligence. The result is a personalized cancer injection specific to that patient's tumor.
How does it help fight cancer?
Cancer vaccines work by sending an instruction or blueprint to the patient's cells to produce an antigen or protein that can distinguish cancer cells from normal cells.
Vaccines stimulate the immune system to work. The immune system produces antibodies that can recognize and attack harmless versions of the disease. Once the patient's body has produced these antibodies, it can recognize the disease if it comes back.
What types of cancer can I treat?
Scientists are studying several different types of cancer vaccines and how they might work in different forms of cancer. More research is needed to get a complete picture of the effectiveness of vaccines and the types of cancer they might treat. Experts believe they could be effective in a number of cancers, including but not limited to colorectal, lung, bladder, pancreatic and kidney cancer.
Doctors have also begun testing the world's first personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, for melanoma. Experts have hailed its “game-changing” potential to cure skin cancer for good. A phase 2 study found that the vaccines dramatically reduced the risk of cancer recurrence in melanoma patients.
How can I access cancer vaccines?
Research is still at an early stage, so vaccines are mainly available in clinical trials. The NHS is launching a scheme which will give thousands of patients in England access to cancer vaccination trials.
When will he start recruiting?
It has already started. The first NHS patient to join the cancer vaccine launch platform is Elliot Pfebve, a 55-year-old university lecturer who had no symptoms and was diagnosed with colorectal cancer after a routine check-up.
How did doctors create this personalized vaccine?
First, Pfebve underwent surgery to remove the tumor, followed by chemotherapy. His personalized vaccine was created by analyzing his tumor to identify mutations specific to his cancer. He then received the injection by infusion at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS foundation trust, one of several centers taking part in a BioNTech trial of the colorectal cancer vaccine. It was designed using the same mRNA technology used to create the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine.
How is the patient feeling?
The principal investigator of the Birmingham trial, Dr Victoria Kunene, said it was too early to say whether the patient was fully cured, but said it was “extremely confident”.
“Based on the limited data we currently have on the response within the body to the vaccine, this could prove to be a significant and positive development for patients, but more data is needed and we continue to recruit suitable patients in the study to establish this further”she said.
How can I sign up?
The NHS has already enrolled dozens of patients in its cancer vaccine launch program and will now accelerate recruitment, with thousands of people set to access cancer vaccine trials each year. Cancer patients can talk to their family doctor to find out if they are eligible to enroll in these trials.
How important is the arrival of cancer vaccines?
Vaccines have revolutionized medicine, protecting millions of people against measles and mumps, polio and the coronavirus. They also eliminated smallpox, one of the deadliest diseases in human history. Now, experts believe they may be part of the toolkit needed to fight cancer once and for all. They won't replace surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy any time soon, but they could play a key role in immunotherapy, the fourth weapon against cancer.
What is the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad?
The NHS scheme in England is the first of its kind in the world. Its goal is to recruit thousands of cancer patients, a matching service by putting them into clinical trials of vaccines that could help them.
