Skin Cancer Patients Fast-Tracked onto ‘Revolutionary’ NHS Cancer Vaccine Trial
The NHS is expanding access to a potentially life-saving skin cancer vaccine as part of a world-leading trial aimed at patients with advanced melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The needle-free injection boosts the immune system, enabling the body to recognise, attack, and retain a memory of cancer cells, helping prevent recurrence.
From next month, patients diagnosed with advanced melanoma – which claims approximately 2,340 lives in the UK each year – will have accelerated access to the trial under NHS England’s Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad. The initiative is part of a broader drive to harness personalised medicine and innovative therapies to improve outcomes for cancer patients.
Grandfather-of-four, Paul Thomas from Hampshire, is among the first participants in the SCOPE trial. Diagnosed with advanced melanoma in 2017, Paul’s cancer repeatedly returned despite standard treatment. Since joining the trial last year, his tumours have significantly shrunk.
“I feel so lucky to be on the trial,” said Paul. “Every time I go for a scan, the tumours seem to be shrinking, which is really exciting. I’m hoping for total eradication rather than just remission, and I’m feeling optimistic.”
The vaccine, iSCIB1+, developed by Oxford-based Scancell, targets DNA markers unique to melanoma tumours. These biomarkers alert the immune system, triggering T cells to seek out and destroy cancer cells. Crucially, the treatment also creates a lasting immune ‘memory’ to help prevent the disease returning. Eligible patients will undergo a blood test to determine their tissue type before receiving the personalised vaccine.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS National Cancer Director, said: “These new vaccines have the potential to revolutionise cancer care and save lives. It’s incredibly exciting that the NHS is expanding its world-leading programme so that more patients with different types of cancer can benefit from these transformative treatments.”
The Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad aims to provide disease-targeting vaccines to 10,000 patients in England by 2030. More than 350 patients have already been fast-tracked onto trials for a bowel cancer vaccine, demonstrating the NHS’s commitment to accelerating innovative cancer treatments.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasised the importance of advancing personalised medicine in the UK: “This kind of innovation is nothing short of life-saving. We want to see more world-leading treatments developed here, putting the UK at the forefront of medical research and helping patients access cutting-edge therapies.”
Minister of State for Health, Karin Smyth, added: “As someone who has overcome skin cancer, I know that every advancement in treatment brings hope to patients and their families.”
Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, diagnosed around 17,500 times annually, with cases rising by a third over the past decade. Standard immunotherapy benefits approximately half of melanoma patients, leaving many at increased risk of disease progression. The launch of the NHS cancer vaccine trial represents a critical step forward in delivering personalised, life-saving cancer treatments to those who need them most.
