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A 73 year-old Morris dancer is still leaping with joy thanks to a customised bowel cancer vaccine – as it is “teaching” his immune system to stop the disease returning.
Grandfather Richard Nelson was shocked to get a stage 3 colon cancer diagnosis 12 months ago, had surgery in December 2023 but warned the disease had spread to his lymph nodes.
Normal vaccines teach the immune system to protect the body from viruses and bacteria, but post-Covid technology has seen a boost in mRNA-style jabs that work with our DNA and viral proteins to teach our bodies to combat infections.
Now retired college vice-principle Richard Nelson has become one of the first in the UK to test this new style of post-op treatment to stop cancers returning, in a new clinical trial at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester.
Without the vaccine treatment, it is possible his cancer will come back, as he has DNA from his cancer cells circulating in his blood.
Richard, from Timperley, Greater Manchester, told the Daily Express: “When I was approached to take part in the trial I welcomed the opportunity.
“I’m very happy to take part. I hope it will benefit me, but I also hope it’ll help other people in the long run.
“I have had a couple of side effects after some, but not all, of the injections, mainly a short period of quite severe shivering and an elevated temperature, rather like the symptoms of the onset of ‘flu.
“These begin a few hours after being given the vaccine and are an indication that the treatment is working.
“The symptoms don’t last very long, and I am able to resume normal life as soon as they have passed.”
After his shock diagnosis and surgery Richard went through a careful selection process before starting on the new clinical trial – the unique vaccines take a few weeks to make after cancer cells are taken from the patient.
German biopharmaceutical company BioNTech SE are jointly developing the vaccines, known as BNT122-01 with Genetech, a member of the Roche Group. The trial is recruiting patients in the UK and the United States.
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 11 per cent of all new cancer cases. It’s estimated that there could be around 47,700 new cases of bowel cancer every year in the UK by 2040.
Richard was thrilled when told about the clinical trial and that he could be eligible – as his cancer was stage 3. he had circulating DNA in his blood so there was a greater probability of the cancer returning.
The trial’s taking place at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF) at The Christie, and Richard started having the injections at the beginning of September 2024.
For six weeks Richard had weekly vaccine injections before that switched to every fortnight. He will continue to be on the 12 month trial treatment until July 2025.
Consultant oncologist Professor Mark Saunders, leading on clinical trial at The Christie said: “In Richard’s case we found DNA from cancer cells in his blood, so unfortunately Richard’s cancer would have a greater chance of coming back.
“The hope is that patients who are given the personalised vaccines have a better chance of long-term survival and cure.
“Richard’s personalised vaccine is primed to attack his unique cancer and prevent any new cancer cells from returning in the future.”
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