Devon patient receives cancer personalised vaccine

The first South West patient matched to a personalised cancer vaccine has received their jab in Devon.

Bowel cancer patient Stephen Brice was part of an experimental trial at Torbay Hospital - one of only six in the country, and the only NHS Trust in the region - to be included.

It is hoped the vaccine will train the immune system to recognise the cancer and delay or stop it from returning.

Mr Brice said: "Hopefully down the line this will be a case in the same scenario as small pox which will be a thing of the past."

He was diagnosed with bowel cancer in September 2023, after taking part in a screening programme.

His treatment was successful but tests showed that he still had fragments of cancerous DNA in his blood.

A personalised vaccine was created using his DNA which is designed to reduce the risk of his cancer coming back.

It means unlike vaccines to protect patients from disease, cancer treatment vaccines are for people who already have cancer.

Dr Nangi Lo, consultant medical oncologist at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The vaccine has been completely tailor made for the patient.

"Everything we do is about getting the right treatment for the right patient and you do not get more personalised than this."

Dr Claire Bromley, research information manager at Cancer Research UK, said that although this was a "step closer" to a vaccine it was still early days.

"Cancer is incredibly complex and there is never going to be one vaccine to treat cancer and we have to bear in mind this is a treatment not a preventative," she explained.

She added that the current vaccines are only available as part of clinical trials.

Mr Brice will be monitored over a year to see if the cancer reappears.

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