London:
A British-Indian doctor has become the lead investigator on a “groundbreaking” trial of a vaccine to treat early-stage bowel cancer in patients around the world, following a collaboration between British and Australian scientists and doctors. .
Dr Tony Dillon, a consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, proposed the idea for the trial and has been working with Australia's Professor Tim Price for the past four years to develop the vaccine.
The recently announced trial will be conducted by the Cancer Research UK Southampton Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Southampton in collaboration with the Royal Surrey Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, Australia.
“This is the first therapeutic vaccine for gastrointestinal cancer, and we have high hopes that it will be a huge success. We think that for many patients, their cancer will disappear completely after this treatment.” said Dr. Dillon.
“This is a breakthrough. We feel like we're on the cusp of something really big here. Vaccines cause the immune system to track cancer. It potentially allows patients to undergo surgery. “This is going to be life-changing because it means you don't have to get it and you could potentially just get the vaccine,” he said.
There will be 10 patient enrollment sites, six in Australia and four in the UK, and 44 patients will be enrolled in the study over 18 months.
The vaccine will be used to treat patients before surgery in the hope of forcing the body to attack cancer. That means any surgery will be less invasive. There is also hope that the vaccine's strong efficacy could help the immune system respond if the cancer later returns.
“We are extremely proud to have been involved in the launch of this ground-breaking new vaccine. As the fourth largest cancer center in the UK, we are committed to supporting the fight against cancer. Louise Stead, from The Royal, said: . CEO of Surrey Foundation Trust.
Patients undergo an endoscopy and then tissue samples are tested to see if they are eligible to participate in the trial. In that case, you will receive three doses of the vaccine before undergoing surgery to remove the cancer.
The trial will involve just 44 patients worldwide. After the trial, the vaccine will either be approved for use or, if successful, a larger study will be conducted.
Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the third most common cancer, with an annual incidence of more than 1.2 million cases and a mortality rate of approximately 50% worldwide.
The vaccine was designed by Imugene Ltd, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
