Patients with the deadliest type of skin cancer will be given fast-tracked access to a ‘revolutionary’ cancer vaccine on the NHS.
The needle-free injection, given for up to two years, is custom-built for people to stop their melanoma returning — which experts believe will herald a new era in fighting the disease.
It works by boosting the immune system’s response helping it to ‘attack’ cancer cells to prevent them from coming back.
It marks an expansion of NHS England’s cancer vaccine launch pad programme, which has already allowed hundreds of patients to receive a bowel cancer vaccine in the last year.
The health service now plans to provide up to 10,000 patients in England with personalised cancer treatments by 2030 through this scheme.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer today said the move was ‘nothing short of life saving’ and that more world-leading research developments would soon be created.
Known as iSCIB1+ (Immunobody), it uses a highly pressurised stream of liquid to administer the vaccine into the skin or muscle.
It targets proteins that are specific to melanoma tumours, flagging them to the immune system, which then seeks out, attacks and destroys the cancer cells.
The needle-free injection, given for up to two years, is custom-built for people to stop their cancer returning. Pictured, one bowel cancer patient receiving the bowel cancer vaccine last year
Currently, around half of patients with melanoma — the UK’s fifth most common cancer — respond to immunotherapy.
But those who do not are at higher risk of their cancer getting worse.
It is hoped that the vaccine trial, developed with UK life sciences company Scancell, will improve the body’s response to this treatment.
Advanced melanoma patients will need a blood test to determine their tissue type before taking part in the trial.
Professor Peter Johnson, the NHS National clinical director for cancer, said: ‘Skin cancer can have a devastating impact.
‘We know that cancer vaccines have the potential to revolutionise cancer care for patients in this country and across the world — and to save more lives.’
He added: ‘People with advanced cancer have little time to lose, and that’s why a platform which rapidly identifies the trials suitable for them is so important.
‘And by enabling more patients to access trials more quickly across England, we can build up the kind of evidence base that leads to breakthroughs which could stop cancer in its tracks, not only for patients on the NHS but worldwide.’
Signs of skin cancer range from innocuous to obvious, but experts warn that treating cases early is key to making sure they do not spread or further develop
Sir Keir also said he was taking steps to fast-track clinical trials and ‘cut red tape for researchers’.
He added: ‘This kind of innovation is nothing short of life-saving and I want to see more of these world-leading treatments being developed in the UK.’
Paul Thomas, 63, was diagnosed with advanced skin cancer in 2017.
The disease returned after treatment, but after taking part in the SCOPE skin cancer vaccine trial last year, his prognosis has improved.
Thomas, a grandfather of four from Hampshire, said: ‘I feel so lucky to be put on the trial.
‘Thankfully I was still quite fit and since I’ve been on it, my tumours have all shrunk. Every time I go for a scan they seem to be shrinking, which is really exciting.
‘I’m really hoping for total eradication of my cancer, as opposed to being put in remission and I’m feeling optimistic.’
Around 15,000 Brits and 100,000 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma each year. It is the fifth most common cancer in the UK.
Last month comedian Katherine Ryan revealed she had received a second skin cancer diagnosis. She said a doctor had initially dismissed her concerns, but tests showed that the mole was ‘early melanoma’
Last month comedian Katherine Ryan revealed she had received a second skin cancer diagnosis.
Speaking on her podcast and social media, the Canadian star confirmed she had recently had a cancerous mole on her arm removed, and would have another procedure to ensure it is all gone.
She also said a doctor had initially dismissed her concerns, but tests showed that the mole was ‘early melanoma’.
The incidence in Britain has risen faster than any other common cancer.
Increased UV exposure from the sun or tanning beds, has been blamed for the increase.
The disease occurs after the DNA in skin cells is damaged, triggering mutations that become cancerous.
Despite huge strides forward in treatment that has seen survival leap from less than 50 per cent to more than 90 per cent in the past decade, it still kills more than 2,000 people a year.
Melanoma is often fast growing and can quickly burrow through the skin and into the blood vessels beneath.
Once the cancer cells get into the bloodstream, the disease can spread throughout the body.
