Cancer Breakthrough: UK Trial To Test New Vaccine For Terminal Cancer

Terminal Cancer May Have Finally Met Its Match

The UK has started testing a new vaccine for terminal cancer.

The trial, taking place in Guilford and London, is aiming to study whether the vaccine will help a person's immune system to destroy their own cancer cells.

First interactive model of a key cancer protein created by British scientists

Kelly Potter, 35 years old, was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer. She is one of the first to participate in the trial.

"I will have the injections every three weeks," over the next six months she told the Huffington Post UK.

Describing what it is like to live with advanced cervical cancer, she said: "My periods became heavier ... the bleeding lasts for five to six weeks."

During the worst cramps, she "would literally be rolling around the floor."

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One of the key aspects of this trial is that it is recruiting patients with any solid tumour, usually the hardest type of cancer to treat.

Professor Hardev Pandha, who is leading the trial at the University of Surrey, told the Press Association (PA): "We know that the immune system in patients with advanced cancer is suppressed, so it's unable to recognise and kill cancer calls.

"In this trial we are investigating a form of immunotherapy designed to activate the body's immune system by administration of a vaccine based on fragments of a key cancer protein."

In order to help the vaccine work better, patients will also have to apply a cream that will help stimulate their immunity.

Life sciences minister George Freeman told PA: "This trial is pushing new boundaries for potential cancer treatments, and brings new hope for patients in the fight against cancer.

"The prospect of a vaccine to help the body's immune system fight advanced cancer highlights the ground-breaking work being delivered by our world-leading life sciences sector, supported through the Government's continued investment in the National Institute for Health Research."

In February, a new therapy for cancer patients was been hailed as a breakthrough after doctors in the US found "unprecedented" results in terminally ill patients.

Study participants who were given months to live had "extraordinary" results after being treated with engineered T-cells, which is a type of white blood cell.

In one study, more than nine out of ten participants diagnosed with leukaemia saw their symptoms vanish after undergoing a trial treatment.

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