As reported by Wired.gov, patients with advanced skin cancer in England will soon have faster access to a promising new cancer vaccine, thanks to the expansion of a world-first NHS programme
The trial, part of the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP), will offer eligible patients early access to a DNA-based melanoma vaccine called iSCIB1+.
The vaccine works by training the immune system to recognise, attack and ‘remember’ cancer cells, helping to reduce the risk of the disease returning.
Administered via needle-free injection into the skin or muscle, the vaccine is given over a period of up to two years. Unlike personalised vaccines tailored to an individual’s tumour, iSCIB1+ is designed to broadly enhance the immune system’s recognition of melanoma cells, boosting the effectiveness of existing immunotherapy treatments.
The first patients are expected to be referred to the trial in May, with seven NHS sites already registered and more due to follow as the programme scales nationally. The trial, known as SCOPE, is a Phase II study and aims to recruit dozens of participants by October.
This marks the latest development in the NHS’s Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, which is already supporting trials for bowel cancer vaccines. Over 350 patients have already been fast-tracked into those studies, and now the platform is expanding to include melanoma – the fifth most common cancer in the UK, accounting for around 4% of new cancer cases.
Cases of melanoma have risen by a third in the past decade, and while around half of patients respond well to immunotherapy, others remain at higher risk of disease progression. The new vaccine could represent a critical step forward for those patients who need additional therapeutic options.
The CVLP is coordinated by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit and represents a major collaboration between the NHS and research partners to rapidly bring cutting-edge science to the bedside.
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