New drug which could 'cure cancer' tested on melanoma patient from Stevenage
A music teacher with melanoma is one of the first people in the world to be given a new anti-cancer treatment which could cure the disease.
Steve Young, 52, from Stevenage, joined a clinical trial after being diagnosed with the potentially deadly form of skin cancer.
He has been given a personalised mRNA cancer jab which works by telling the body's immune system to hunt down and kill cancer cells.
It has been developed by pharmaceutical firms Moderna and MSD and has been found to dramatically reduce the risk of the cancer returning in melanoma patients.
A final phase trial into the treatment is being led by University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH).
Dr Heather Shaw, an investigator for the trial, said the jab had the potential to cure people with melanoma and is being tested in other cancers.
“This is one of the most exciting things we’ve seen in a really long time," she said.
Mr Young, who received a jab at UCLH just a few weeks ago, said he had a bump on his head for around 10 years before he got it properly checked out.
"I really started to notice it at the end of 2022," he said. "The bump just felt bigger and I was more aware of it."
He had the lump removed, but unfortunately that was not the end of the story. Two weeks later, Mr Young was called back in and was told to bring somebody with him.
“I went in and they told me that it was a 4.1mm nodular melanoma, which had been misdiagnosed now by five people," he said.
“Any melanoma over 0.8mm they consider dangerous, so I knew I was potentially in trouble.
“I literally spent two weeks just thinking ‘this is it’. My dad died of emphysema when he was 57 and I actually thought ‘I’m going to die younger than my dad’.”
When he was told about the trial at UCLH, Mr Young said it “really triggered my geek radar”.
He added: “When the Covid vaccine came out, and there was all these stories about the mRNA vaccine, I was just fascinated by it, I was fascinated by all the companies involved.
“It really piqued my interest. As soon as they mentioned this mRNA technology that was being used to potentially fight cancer, I was just like, ‘it sounds fascinating’ and I still feel the same. I’m really, really excited.
“I feel privileged to be involved in a such an important trial.”
In order to create the jab, a sample of tumour is removed during the patient’s surgery, followed by DNA sequencing and the use of artificial intelligence.
The result is a personalised anti-cancer jab which is specific to the patient’s tumour.
Dr Shaw said: “This is very much an individualised therapy and it’s far cleverer in some senses than a vaccine.
“It is absolutely custom built for the patient – you couldn’t give this to the next patient in the line because you wouldn’t expect it to work.
“They may have some shared new antigens, but they’re likely to have their own very individual new antigens that are important to their tumour and so, therefore, it is truly personalised.”
The ultimate aim is to cure patients of their cancer, Dr Shaw said.
The therapy is also being trialled in lung, bladder and kidney cancer.
The phase 3 global trial will now include a wider range of patients, and hopes to recruit around 1,100 people.
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