Britain: Indian-origin doctor to conduct cancer vaccine trial

Following a UK-Australian partnership between scientists and medics, a British Indian doctor is the chief investigator of a “ground-breaking” trial of a vaccine to treat early bowel cancer for patients globally.

The trial’s concept was put out by Dr. Tony Dhillon, a consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust. For the past four years, he has collaborated with Professor Tim Price in Australia to create the vaccine.

The Cancer Research UK Southampton Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Southampton, in partnership with Royal Surrey and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, Australia, will conduct the recently announced trial.

“This is the first treatment vaccine in any gastrointestinal cancer and we have high hopes that it will be very successful. We think that for a lot of patients, the cancer will have gone completely after this treatment,” Dr Dhillon told the media.

“This is ground-breaking. I feel as if we are on the edge of something really big here. The vaccine makes the immune system go after the cancer. It will be life-changing because it means that potentially, patients may not need to have surgery – they may just have the vaccine,” he added.

Ten patient enrollment sites—six in Australia and four in the UK—will accommodate 44 participants over the course of the 18-month trial.

In the hopes that the vaccination may trigger the body to fight the malignancy, patients will receive treatment prior to surgery. Any operation would then be less intrusive as a result. Additionally, it is hoped that the vaccine’s potency will help the immune system react in the event of a relapse and subsequent cancer return.

Following an endoscopy, patients’ eligibility for the experiment will be determined by testing a tissue sample. If so, they will receive three vaccination doses prior to undergoing surgery to remove the cancer.

Just 44 participants worldwide will be permitted to participate in the trial. The vaccine will either receive a license for usage following the trial’s conclusion, or if it proves successful, a larger investigation will be conducted.

Colorectal cancer, another name for bowel cancer, is the third most frequent type of cancer in the world, accounting for roughly 1.2 million cases annually, with a 50% fatality rate.

Imugene Ltd., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology business, created the vaccine.

(With agency inputs)