The NHS will offer innovative cancer vaccines to individuals suffering from head and neck tumours as part of an expanded clinical trial programme.
More than 100 patients diagnosed with cancers of the mouth, throat, and other head-related cancers will receive these treatments within the coming 12 months.
The initiative is a significant extension of the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, which has already enrolled approximately 550 participants with bowel or skin malignancies.
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Around 550 patients are receiving the treatment
|GETTY
These personalised vaccines employ mRNA technology, initially developed for Covid immunisations, to combat cancer cells.
The treatment specifically targets tumours containing human papillomavirus proteins, which frequently appear in head and neck malignancies.
Fifteen NHS hospitals will offer the treatment to carefully selected participants during the next year.
The initiative forms part of a collaboration between NHS England and German biotechnology firm BioNTech.
The vaccine, designated AHEAD-MERIT (BNT113-01), functions by enabling the body's natural defences to identify and eliminate malignant cells. It contains encoded instructions for two proteins typically present in HPV-associated head and neck tumours.
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This approach trains patients' immune systems to recognise and destroy cancerous tissue.
Participants will be matched to appropriate trials through a specialised service operated by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, ensuring patients receive treatment at convenient locations.
England records approximately 11,000 new head and neck cancer diagnoses annually, with research from Sheffield University revealing a 47 per cent surge in cases from 2013 to 2020. Fewer than half of patients survive past two years following diagnosis.
Additionally, the disease frequently returns after initial treatment, making long-term management particularly difficult.
The vaccines use mRNA technology
|GETTY
As such, the AHEAD-MERIT vaccine addresses this challenge by incorporating genetic codes for two proteins prevalent in HPV-linked head and neck tumours.
The vaccine essentially educates the immune system to recognise cancer-specific markers, enabling it to provide an effective defence against tumour growth and potentially prevent disease recurrence in survivors.
Prof Peter Johnson, NHS England's national clinical director for cancer, described the treatment as a "potentially transformative vaccine, offering renewed hope of holding the disease at bay".
Health minister Karin Smyth MP dubbed the trial a "massive win" for Britain that "could be game-changing for patients facing some of the most challenging diagnoses".
Meanwhile, Chris Curtis, 67, who founded The Swallows support charity after his own HPV-related head and neck cancer diagnosis in 2011, said: "When I was diagnosed with stage four tongue cancer and two secondary cancers, one on each side of the neck, my world just fell apart."
Following extensive treatment including radiotherapy, chemotherapy and tube feeding for nearly three years, he lost 12st and suffered severe physical and mental health impacts.
"With this aggressive cancer, you live in fear every day, so anything that could help control the disease or give people peace of mind is ground-breaking. It'll allow people to get on with their lives and move forward."