First patient treated with personalised cancer vaccine as part of world-leading NHS trial programme
A higher education lecturer is first patient in England to be treated with a personalised vaccine against their bowel cancer, as part of the NHS England Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP), run by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit.
Thousands of cancer patients in England are set to gain fast-tracked access to trials of personalised cancer vaccines following the launch of a world-leading NHS trial “matchmaking” service to help find new life-saving treatments.
In a national first, father-of-four Elliot Phebve received the developmental jab at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, one of several sites taking part in the colorectal cancer vaccine trial sponsored by BioNTech SE.
The vaccine trial involving Elliot is one of several that will be taking place in NHS trusts across the country through the new CVLP, which is being coordinated nationally by the team at the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit on behalf of NHS England.
Patients who agree to take part have a sample of their cancer tissue and a blood test taken. If they meet a clinical trial’s eligibility criteria, they can be referred to their nearest participating NHS site, meaning patients from hospitals across the country will find it easier than ever to take part in groundbreaking research.
The investigational cancer vaccines evaluated in the colorectal cancer trial are based on mRNA – the same technology used for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine - and are created by analysing a patient’s tumour to identify mutations specific to their own cancer. Using this information, medics then create an experimental individualised cancer vaccine.
The developmental vaccines are designed to induce an immune response that may prevent cancer from returning after surgery on the primary tumour, by stimulating the patient’s immune system to specifically recognise and potentially destroy any remaining cancer cell.
The investigational cancer vaccines being jointly developed by biopharmaceutical companies BioNTech and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, are still undergoing trials and have not yet been approved by regulators.
The German biotechnology company BioNTech presented new preliminary data on how measuring circulating tumour DNA could potentially help early detection of colorectal cancer at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual conference in Chicago on Saturday (1st June).
Higher-education lecturer Elliot, 55, had no cancer symptoms and was diagnosed through a routine health check with his GP.
Following blood tests, he was immediately invited to Manor Hospital in Walsall and triaged to a hospital ward to receive blood transfusions.
A CT scan and a colonoscopy confirmed he had colon cancer and Eliott had surgery to remove the tumour and 30 cm of his large intestine. He was then referred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham for initial rounds of chemotherapy and to take part in a clinical trial.
Eliott said: “Taking part in this trial tallies with my profession as a lecturer, and as a community-centred person. I want to impact other people’s lives positively and help them realise their potential.
“Through the potential of this trial, if it is successful, it may help thousands, if not millions of people, so they can have hope, and may not experience all I have gone through. I hope this will help other people.”
Thirty hospitals in England are already signed up to the pioneering Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad – one of the biggest projects of its kind in the world – with more sites joining the platform over the coming months.
The scheme aims to expand and work with a range of partners in the pharmaceutical industry to include patients across many cancer types who could potentially join a vaccine trial, such as those with pancreatic and lung cancer.
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Professor Gareth Griffiths, Director of the Cancer Research UK Southampton Clinical Trial Unit at the University of Southampton, said: “Research and clinical trials are essential for improving how we treat cancer and helping to improve outcomes for patients.
"By bringing together the most innovative immunotherapies and personalised treatment trials through the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad we hope to facilitate more patient access to these clinical trials and ultimately accelerate the progress in cancer treatments.”
Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: “Seeing Elliot receive his first treatment as part of the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad is a landmark moment for patients and the health service as we seek to develop better and more effective ways to stop this disease.
“Thanks to advances in care and treatment, cancer survival is at an all-time high in this country, but these vaccine trials could one day offer us a way of vaccinating people against their own cancer to help save more lives.
“The NHS is in a unique position to deliver this kind of world-leading research at size and scale, and as more of these trials get up and running at hospitals across the country, our national match-making service will ensure as many eligible patients as possible get the opportunity to access them.”
Trials have already enlisted dozens of patients, although the majority of participants are expected to be enrolled from 2026 onwards.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer at the NHS said: “We know that even after a successful operation, cancers can sometimes return because a few cancer cells are left in the body, but using a vaccine to target those remaining cells may be a way to stop this happening.
“Access to clinical trials could provide another option for patients and their families, and I’m delighted that through our national launch pad we will be widening the opportunities to be part of these trials for many more people, with thousands of patients expected to be recruited in the next year.”
Last year, the Government signed an agreement with BioNTech to provide up to 10,000 patients with precision cancer immunotherapies by 2030.
BioNTech has already begun conducting clinical trials in the UK, and the NHS launch pad is helping to accelerate the identification of eligible patients for those trials in England.
The vaccines being tested as part of the trials aim to help patients with different types of cancer and, if successfully developed, researched and approved, cancer vaccines could become part of standard care.
The NHS is working in partnership with Genomics England on the launch pad, with work already helping patients access the latest testing technologies and ensures they are given more targeted precision treatments for their cancer.
Read more on the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit’s involvement in the CVLP
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