Breaking new ground in cancer treatment with UK's first vaccine

The United Kingdom has launched the world’s first clinical trial for a personalised cancer vaccine. Unlike traditional vaccines that prevent disease, this immunotherapy targets patients with existing tumours, teaching their immune systems to identify, attack, and prevent the spread of cancer cells.

Through the new Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, thousands of cancer patients in England will gain fast-tracked access to tailored treatments. If successful, the trial could pave the way for a significant reduction in global cancer rates, with up to 10,000 patients expected to receive bespoke therapies by 2030.

This innovative trial comes at a critical time as cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide, with 20 million new cases diagnosed in 2022 alone. Advances like these hold transformative potential, but disparities in healthcare access persist. Low-income countries face significant challenges in cancer diagnosis and treatment compared to wealthier nations.

In addition to therapeutic cancer vaccines, preventive solutions are also advancing. Researchers are developing vaccines such as OvarianVax to prevent ovarian cancer, while existing vaccines like those for HPV and hepatitis B continue to protect against cervical and liver cancers, respectively.

Though side effects of cancer vaccines are generally mild and short-lived, their ability to specifically target cancer proteins offers a promising path forward in reducing the global cancer burden, particularly when paired with efforts to improve access to healthcare worldwide.

The huge potential lies in cancer vaccines. For instance, the following are potential benefits of cancer vaccines: They can stop cancer from growing larger or spreading, eliminate cancer cells that remain after other treatments, prevent cancer from coming back.

Because different tumours have different antigens, there is no single universal cancer vaccine. The potential benefits of cancer vaccines outweigh the short-term side effects to the recipient, and therefore, this is an area that most clinical researchers in cancer are keen to explore now and in the future. Preliminary findings provide a promising outlook for future management of various forms of cancer.

The question then arises: how do cancer vaccines work? The vaccines identify proteins that are present on cancer cells but not on normal cells. These proteins are called tumour-associated antigens (TAAs) or tumour neoantigens.

The vaccines expose the immune system to these proteins. The immune system learns to recognise the proteins as foreign and attacks the cancer cells. There are several types of potential cancer vaccines that are in the nascent stages of development. These include protein-based vaccines, which deliver pieces of proteins that are found in high levels on cancer cells.

Cell-based vaccines use cells from the patient’s own tumour that have been modified in a lab.

On the other hand, mRNA vaccines contain mRNA designed to produce TAAs or neoantigens in the body.