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Cancer patients in the U.K. are set to receive personalized cancer vaccines as part of a groundbreaking new trial. These "game-changer" vaccines, a form of immunotherapy, are designed to prime the body's immune system to locate and fight tumor cells, thereby reducing the chances of cancer returning.

Unlike traditional vaccines for diseases such as the flu or COVID-19, which prevent the onset of illness, these cancer vaccines treat individuals who already have the disease. The trial, conducted across several National Health Service (NHS) sites in England, will initially focus on patients with colorectal, pancreatic, skin, lung, bladder, and kidney cancers. The vaccines for this trial will be produced by biotech company BioNTech SE.

"It's incredibly exciting that patients in England are beginning to access personalized cancer vaccines for bowel cancer," said Iain Foulkes, the executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, in an NHS statement. "This technology pioneers the use of mRNA-based vaccines to sensitize people's immune systems and in turn detect and target cancer at its earliest stages."

The process involves analyzing a patient's cancer or tumor to create a custom vaccine that contains markers specific to their cancer cells. These markers, called antigens, help the immune system recognize and target cancer cells. Francesco Crea, a professor of cancer pharmacology at the U.K.'s Open University, explained,

"These vaccines teach the patient's immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. The vaccine is tailored to the molecules expressed by the cancer cells of each patient."

The treatment aims to be used alongside surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy to prevent cancer recurrence and may offer fewer side effects compared to other treatments. "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," said Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer.

The first NHS patient to receive the trial vaccine is 55-year-old Elliot Pfebve, who previously had surgery and chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. "Taking part in this trial tallies with my profession as a lecturer, and as a community-centered person. I want to impact other people's lives positively and help them realize their potential," Pfebve stated.

While the trial's completion is projected for 2027, preliminary data will be presented by BioNTech SE at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual conference in Chicago on June 1. Professor Crea expressed cautious optimism about the trial's potential, noting that while some cancer types may respond well to the vaccines, others may require combination therapies.