New cancer vaccine to stop disease before it takes hold in the body
A new cancer vaccine, aimed at preventing the disease from developing, is being developed by pharma giant GSK and the University of Oxford.
The vaccine is intended to target cells at the pre-cancerous stage, before the disease has taken hold and begun to wreak havoc on the body.
The collaboration will leverage Oxford's expertise in pre-cancer biology, focusing on targeting cells in the pre-cancerous stage.
This innovative approach builds on the success of existing cancer vaccines that prevent recurrence in patients with established cancer, but this new venture aims to stop the disease before it develops.
Professor Sarah Blagden, from the University of Oxford, will co-lead the new GSK-Oxford Cancer Immuno-Prevention Programme, which is backed by £50 million from GSK.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Cancer does not sort of come from nowhere.
'You always imagine it would take about a year or two years to develop in your body but, in fact, we now know that cancers can take up to 20 years, sometimes even more, to develop – as a normal cell transitions to become cancerous.
'We know that, actually at that point, most cancers are invisible when they are going through this, what we now call pre-cancer stage.
'And so the purpose of the vaccine is not to vaccinate against established cancer, but to actually vaccinate against that pre-cancer stage.'
She said Oxford had expertise in the pre-cancerous changes 'so we can actually now start to sort of be able to detect the undetectable'.
She said experts have 'been able to work out what features those cells have as they're transitioning towards cancer, and so we can design a vaccine specifically targeted against that.
'In this case, we're actually going for the cancer itself, but going at it at the pre-cancer stage.'
Tony Wood, chief scientific officer at GSK, said: 'We're pleased to further strengthen our relationship with Oxford University and to combine the deep knowledge of Oxford and GSK scientists.
'By exploring pre-cancer biology and building on GSK's expertise in the science of the immune system, we aim to generate key insights for people at risk of developing cancer.'
Professor Irene Tracey, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: 'This partnership represents a step forward in cancer research.
'By working with GSK to unite experts in clinical trials, immuno-oncology, vaccinology and pre-cancer research from across the University of Oxford, we aim to unlock the potential of cancer vaccines and bring hope to patients worldwide.'
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: 'Cancer is a disease that has brought pain and heartbreak to every family in the country, including my own.
'But through our world-leading universities and businesses working in lockstep, like Oxford and GSK are doing here, we can harness science and innovation to transform what's possible when it comes to diagnosing and treating this disease.'
In 2021, GSK and Oxford established the Institute of Molecular and Computational Medicine to drive forward the research and development of new medicines.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
14 hours ago
- The Independent
How physicists made ‘light from darkness' with longheld vacuum theory
Oxford University physicists have simulated how intense laser beams can alter vacuum, recreating a quantum physics phenomenon where vacuum is not empty but full of temporary particle pairs. Classical physics suggests light beams pass through each other undisturbed, but quantum mechanics posits that vacuum is filled with fleeting particles that scatter light. Simulations detailed in Communications Physics recreated a phenomenon where three focused laser pulses alter virtual particles in vacuum, generating a fourth laser beam in a 'light from darkness' process. The simulation used software called OSIRIS to model interactions between laser beams and matter, revealing that intense laser beams can agitate virtual particles and cause light particles to scatter. Physicists aim to conduct real-world laser experiments to confirm this quantum phenomenon, with the simulation potentially paving the way for studying hypothetical dark matter particles like axions and millicharged particles.
The Independent
17 hours ago
- The Independent
Physicists prove long-held theory light can be made from nothingness of vacuum
Scientists have demonstrated after decades of theorising how light interacts with vacuum, recreating a bizarre phenomenon predicted by quantum physics. Oxford University physicists ran simulations to test how intense laser beams alter vacuum, a state once thought to be empty but predicted by quantum physics to be full of fleeting, temporary particle pairs. Classical physics predicts that light beams pass through each other undisturbed. But quantum mechanics holds that even what we know as vacuum is always brimming with fleeting particles, which pop in and out of existence, causing light to be scattered. The latest simulations, detailed in a study published in Communications Physics, recreated a strange phenomenon predicted by quantum physics. The theory predicts that the combined effect of three focused laser pulses can alter virtual particles in vacuum, generating a fourth laser beam in a 'light from darkness' process. 'This is not just an academic curiosity,' study co-author Peter Norreys said. 'It is a major step towards experimental confirmation of quantum effects that until now have been mostly theoretical.' Physicists used a simulation software package called OSIRIS to model interactions between laser beams and matter, giving them a peek into vacuum-light interactions that were previously out of reach. The simulations revealed that intense laser beams could agitate virtual particles and cause light particles to scatter off one another like billiard balls. They also showed how real-world factors such as imperfect beam alignment could influence the result. 'By applying our model to a three-beam scattering experiment, we were able to capture the full range of quantum signatures, along with detailed insights into the interaction region and key time scales,' said Zixin Zhang, another author of the new study. Physicists now hope to conduct real-world laser experiments to confirm the bizarre quantum phenomenon. The simulation experiment could also pave the way for more in-depth study of a range of theorised quantum effects in vacuum in other laser setups.
BBC News
21 hours ago
- BBC News
Women's Prize for Non-Fiction 'amplifies female voices'
A palliative care doctor shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction says the prestigious book award "amplifies" the importance of female Rachel Clarke, from Oxford, and MP Yuan Yang, who represents Earley and Woodley in Berkshire, spoke to BBC South ahead of Thursday's award ceremony in London. Both women said they were delighted to be on the shortlist and hoped it would bring new readers to their work. "The voices of women in non-fiction are often overlooked and eclipsed by male voices," said Dr Clarke. "This prize amplifies their voices and says to girls and women that their stories matter."Dr Clarke said she was compelled to write The Story of a Heart when she read newspaper articles about nine-year-old Max who received a heart donation from a girl called Keira - also nine - who had suffered catastrophic injuries in a car said she approached Keira's family incredibly carefully. "I knew they would be entrusting an incredibly personal story to me. I wanted to honour the little girl that Keira was," Dr Clarke said. The book follows the medical journey that ultimately saved Max's life and tells the stories of those who helped along the way: doctors, nurses and paramedics. Dr Clarke, who specialises in palliative care, draws comparisons between being a good doctor and being a good author. "As a doctor you have to care about people, you have to listen to their stories and you have to communicate stories back to them," she said. "One of the saddest things is when the patient thinks the story of their life is over. Sometimes you can help people realise that life still can be worth living with a terminal illness because it absolutely can." Yuan Yang's book, Private Revolutions, Coming of Age in a New China, tells the stories of four women growing up in the '80s and '90s in a country that was rapidly changing. Ms Yang, who won her seat for Labour last year, started writing it while working in Beijing as a journalist. "Some of the women I met had stories that were so immense that they couldn't be captured in newspaper reporting," she said. "I wanted to explore what it's like to live through such a huge economic and social transformation."Ms Yang, the first Chinese-born British MP, moved to the UK when she was four. She said she often considered what her life would have been like had her parents chosen to remain in China."I'm really glad they settled down in Reading and gave me and my brother a more stable life. For many of my contemporaries in China their lives continued to be unsettled." When Ms Yang was born in 1989 the vast majority of China was agricultural. "Most people were living below the poverty line, my dad's parents included. So you had millions of migrant workers who moved to the city to work in factories and often left children behind in the village," she said, "Moving from farmland to megacities like Beijing and Shanghai is a huge acceleration. "I'm interested in what that does to people on an economic level but also in terms of their relationships with their families and their loved ones." Both women say they were "humbled" to be shortlisted for such a prestigious prize alongside fellow nominees Neneh Cherry, Helen Scales, Chloe Dalton and Clare Yang said she hoped it brought the lives of the women in her book to a greater number of readers. "It was published just before the general election was called in 2024 when my main focus was on campaigning and then setting up the office," she said. "I'm just grateful that the book found its way to readers and to these judges - and I hope it will find its way to more people." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
