NHS rolls out cancer vaccine trial at 15 hospitals

England tests an mRNA cancer vaccine in head and neck cancer across 15 hospitals as part of a national trial.

NHS launches cancer vaccine trial at 15 hospitals

England will test an mRNA cancer vaccine across 15 NHS sites. The first patients have already received the jab, and around 100 more will join over the next 12 months. The programme is run via the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad and the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, which has helped refer about 550 patients to vaccine trials in other cancer areas.

The vaccine, known as AHEAD-MERIT (BNT113-01), trains the immune system to recognise cancer cells that carry HPV proteins. It is personalised, created after tumor sequencing and AI analysis to identify targets. Early phases in other cancers have shown promise for mRNA vaccines, although two-year survival for advanced head and neck cancer remains under 50% of cases.

The approach blends precision medicine with scalable vaccine technology. If the trial proves safe and effective, it could reshape how the NHS treats HPV related cancers and push the frontier of personalised immunotherapy. The cost, logistics, and need for tumor sequencing at scale will test the health system's ability to deliver equity across regions.

However, the plan to roll out widely will raise questions about budget, access, and public reaction. Long term data on durability and potential side effects will matter as the NHS weighs expansion beyond cancer vaccines to other tumour types.

Highlights

The coming months will reveal whether the promise meets patient needs and system reality.