'Ground-breaking' research at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre

Clatterbridge was the first cancer research centre in the UK to give an injection of the Transgene experimental immunotherapy to a patient with the aim of reducing the risk of his cancer returning.

Now, Clatterbridge’s research team has signed up its first two patients for the next phase of the study, described as 'pioneering'.

This new research will further test the treatment in HPV-negative head and neck cancer patients, who are given the therapy – individually created for each person using their own tumour DNA by French biotech company Transgene – designed to stimulate the patient's immune system and educate it to fight against cancer.

Research at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre underway (Image: The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust) During the summer, a patient in France was the first in the world to be enrolled in Phase II of the study and now Clatterbridge has become the first centre in the UK to enlist patients.

This type of head and neck cancer has a high rate of returning in patients and the clinical trial aims to tackle this by using this personalised form of immunotherapy to trigger an immune response using a well-established and effective vaccine technology.

The results of the first phase of the clinical trial saw very positive results, with it being effective in triggering patients’ immune systems to recognise, attack and kill any new cancer cells.

Chief Investigator for the UK trial, Professor Christian Ottensmeier, director of clinical research at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, said: "We are extremely excited to be entering the next phase of this pioneering research into an experimental immunotherapy which could change the way people with cancer are treated.

“We had some very positive responses to the treatment in the first phase of the clinical trial and we are hoping this will continue as we move to a more advanced stage.

Professor Christian Ottensmeier, director of clinical research at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (Image: The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust) “Head and neck cancers are highly problematic to treat if they spread and cannot then be completely removed surgically.

"Personalised cancer vaccines are a really promising development which we hope will help to treat this and other forms of the disease – and it could become a new standard therapy.”

Dr Emmanuelle Dochy, MD, chief medical officer of Transgene, said: "We are encouraged by the promising clinical outcomes of the Phase I and look forward to generating data from the Phase II part of the trial.

"Personalised cancer vaccines are an extremely exciting development and, if successful, could also be utilised to treat other forms of cancer to improve and extend the lives of patients."

Dr Gillian Heap, director of research innovation operations at Clatterbridge, said: "The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is one of the leading NHS sites for cancer vaccine research in the UK.

"Our patients have been benefiting from clinical trials into these ground-breaking therapies for a number of years and we are really pleased we have again recruited the first people in the UK on to one of these important studies."