A pioneering therapeutic cancer vaccine, publicly funded by the Medical Research Council, has been administered to a UK patient for the first time in an early-stage clinical trial at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. The treatment is designed to match the unique genetic changes found in the patient’s tumour, marking a new step in personalised cancer research.
How the vaccine is being tested
The trial will involve ten participants with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and is being overseen by clinicians and scientists at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and the University of Liverpool, including the Liverpool Clinical Trials Centre. Researchers will assess safety and look for early signs that the vaccine may trigger an immune response against the cancer.
The patient, Chris Jones, lives in Hoylake on the Wirral and has advanced lung cancer that has only partially responded to standard immunotherapy treatment. The vaccine is intended to help the immune system recognise tumour cells and attack them, with the hope of extending the benefit of treatment for longer.
Personalised design and rapid manufacturing
Advanced computational technologies developed by biopharmaceutical company myNEO are used to identify which tumour targets the immune system should be aimed against. These targets are then manufactured into a vaccine using a cell-free method to make DNA known as doggybone DNA, or dbDNA. Researchers say the approach could help produce personalised vaccine components more rapidly and at lower cost than more traditional methods.
Chris first went for tests after a persistent cough and breathlessness led her GP to refer her for further checks last year. Her diagnosis came after a family history deeply affected by cancer, with her father and grandfather both having died from lung cancer.
Public funding supports the next phase of research
The MRC provided a £2.66 million grant from its Proof of Concept scheme to support the work. The study is led by Professor Christian Ottensmeier, Consultant Oncologist at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, and Professor Natalia Savelyeva at the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology.
According to the research team, the use of dbDNA technology could eventually help make personalised cancer vaccines deliverable at scale. The trial also brings together NHS Blood and Transplant, GCP Laboratory team, GenomeScan, myNEO Therapeutics and PharmaJet.
The first dose was given using PharmaJet’s Stratis system, a needle-free injection method, and further doses are planned over several months alongside standard immunotherapy. While the trial is still at an early stage, researchers say the work may help shape the future of personalised treatment for advanced lung cancer and other solid tumours.
More details are available from the UKRI announcement and the MRC news page. A fuller summary of the research context is also available from The BMJ News.
Photo source: AI-generated or edited image
