A DAD has become the first person to get a personalised NHS cancer jab in a major new programme.
Thousands more patients are now set to receive the cutting-edge experimental vaccine to stop tumours growing back.
1
University lecturer Elliot Pfebve, 55, was given the first of the new vaccinations — which do not prevent or cure tumours but mop up remaining cancer cells after surgery or chemotherapy.
The dad of four, from Walsall, West Mids, had chemo after bowel cancer was spotted in a routine NHS check in May 2023.
He said after his jab: “It felt wonderful to be able to take part in something which could lead to a new way of treating cancer.”
The NHS will match patients to clinical trials for their specific tumours through its new Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad.
Infusions are tailored to match the DNA of unique tumours.
The vaccine — made by Covid jab maker BioNTech using similar mRNA technology — trains immune systems to fight cancer cells.
Each patient has a DNA sample taken during treatment and a vaccine is then tailored to match proteins found on their exact tumour.
Patients receive regular infusions for 12 months, starting with weekly treatment during a loading period before doses are tapered to fortnightly then every six weeks.
Professor Peter Johnson, at NHS England, said: “This is cutting-edge technology . . . a very important development in cancer treatment.
“Bringing analysis of cancer cell genetics to match somebody’s tissue is really very new. We need more treatments to prevent recurrence.”
The vaccines are free on the NHS while they are in clinical trials.
BioNTech declined to comment on the market cost.
The German firm has signed a deal to enrol 10,000 UK patients on to cancer vaccine trials by 2030.
NHS England chief exec Amanda Pritchard said: “These vaccine trials could one day offer us a way to save more lives.”
ANALYSIS: Preparing for the future
By Sam Blanchard, Health Correspondent
CANCER vaccines are an exciting prospect because they use the body’s own immune system to fight tumours, reducing the collateral damage to healthy cells which is a risk of surgery, radiotherapy and chemo.
Hopefully this will mean people can be treated for longer without the fear of crippling or even deadly side effects, improving their survival chances.
Research is still in the early stages so the number of patients who can try out the vaccines in the next couple of years is likely to be small.
They will probably also be very expensive, as there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between the clinic and lab as every vaccine is tailored to the individual patient.
But the NHS’ Cancer Vaccines Launch Pad will help pharmaceutical companies study and develop the vaccines, set up the NHS infrastructure for if they become routinely used in future – and offer hope for patients along the way.