NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad administered by University Hospital Southampton’s clinical trial unit helping New Milton skin cancer patient Paul Thomas

A WINDOW cleaner from New Milton said he feels lucky to have been put on a “revolutionary” skin cancer vaccine trial by the NHS.

Grandfather-of-four Paul Thomas was diagnosed with advanced skin cancer in 2017 and the disease kept returning despite treatment.

Last year Paul (63) was given the chance to be part of the ‘Scope’ skin cancer vaccine trial, part of the NHS’s Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) administered by University Hospital Southampton’s clinical trials unit.

“I feel so lucky to be put on the trial,” he said. “Thankfully I was still quite fit, and since I've been on it my tumours have all shrunk.

“Every time I go for a scan they seem to be shrinking, which is really exciting.

“I'm really hoping for total eradication of my cancer, as opposed to being put in remission, and I’m feeling optimistic.

“The care I've had so far has been fantastic and the team that have looked after me have been superb, along with amazing support from my family, I'm so thankful.”

Paul and his wife Patricia recently completed a charity walk and raised over £1,000 for Maggie’s, a charity which provides free care and support for cancer patients throughout the UK, including in Southampton.

Paul is one of several skin cancer patients to be given fast-tracked access to the new cancer vaccine, which is administered using a needle-free injection which lasts for up to two years.

The vaccine works by boosting the immune system’s response, helping it to “recognise, attack and remember” cancer cells to help stop the disease from returning.

The trial is the latest part of NHS England’s CVLP, a world-first programme to fast-track eligible patients to studies developing vaccines against different cancers.

CVLP is already helping thousands to access trials of a personalised vaccine against bowel cancer, with more than 350 patients fast-tracked, and has now expanded to include a trial for melanoma, the fifth most common cancer in the UK.

The new DNA vaccine is not personalised to a patient’s tumour, but aims to improve the recognition of cancer cells by the immune system to boost response to immunotherapy.

The phase two trial is under way and it’s hoped the number of patients able to take part will have expanded by October.

The NHS has partnered with UK life-sciences company Scancell to “widen access” for patients at hospitals across the country to the cancer vaccines trials.

Southampton’s clinical trials unit director Professor Gareth Griffiths said: “It is fantastic to see the expansion of the CVLP with the addition of this melanoma cancer vaccine trial.

“Our team has been working hard with Scancell to bring the trial on to the CVLP platform and we hope that by being part of this ground-breaking programme we can help to increase referrals for this trial and give more patients with advanced melanoma access to new, potentially life-saving treatments.”

The Southampton clinical trials unit is at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

The hospital’s director of research and development, Karen Underwood, said: “Research is vital to advancing healthcare and I am delighted that more of our patients will now benefit from access to pioneering cancer vaccines.

“Evidence shows that hospitals actively engaged in clinical research tend to have better patient outcomes, even for patients who are not directly involved in a research trial, and that is why research is so important to our trust.”