Cancer patients to receive ‘game-changing’ vaccine in new NHS trial
Vaccine to be given to cancer patients with head and neck tumours
- Patients in England with head and neck cancer will be fast-tracked onto a clinical trial for a potentially transformative new mRNA vaccine.
- The vaccine uses mRNA technology to train the immune system to fight cancerous cells, specifically targeting proteins found in HPV-associated head and neck cancers.
- Over 100 patients with advanced forms of the disease will be matched to the AHEAD-MERIT (BNT113) trial, which will run at 15 NHS hospitals over the next year.
- This trial is the third to be run through the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, a partnership between NHS England, the Government, and BioNTech.
- Health officials and patient advocates have hailed the vaccine as potentially game-changing, offering crucial hope for improved outcomes and reduced recurrence for those with aggressive head and neck cancers.