An experimental new vaccine from Moderna could help beat cancer, experts have revealed.
The creators of the new jab were one of the companies responsible for Covid vaccines during the pandemic.
In October, an 81-year-old man who has incurable skin cancer was the first person to be jabbed with the potential miracle injection.
He said of the treatment: “Taking part gives a sense of contributing to something which can help a lot of people.”
Imperial College NHS Trust’s Dr David Pinato and his team are running tests to find out if the jab is safe enough for a three-year worldwide trial.
He said: “Research is in the early stages . . . but it is moving us closer to therapies that are potentially less toxic and more precise.”
Dr Pinato is hopeful the treatment will be able to treat skin and lung cancers first, before treating other cancers like bowel and breast.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS cancer director, said of the new treatment: “Cancer vaccines could be revolutionary.
“We expect to see thousands more patients taking part in trials of this kind over the next few years.”
Victoria Atkins, the Health Secretary, added: “This vaccine has the potential to save lives while revolutionising the way we treat this terrible disease with therapies that are more effective and less toxic.”
Meanwhile, Moderna’s Dr Kyle Holen said: “People have been working on cancer vaccines for more than 20 years and the field has finally come to a point where we’re starting to see a real benefit in patients.
“That was something that we saw with our first vaccine, where we were able to reduce the risk of recurrence by more than half in patients who had high-risk melanoma.
“So we’re really excited about some of the early results and we hope that this brings in the dawn of a new age of cancer treatments.”
The vaccine is part of a trial called Mobilize.
