HQ Team
October 4, 2024: Researchers at the University of Oxford have received £600,000 (€719,960) from Cancer Research UK to fund their project to develop OvarianVax, a vaccine aimed at preventing ovarian cancer. The fund will support laboratory research over the next three years.
The goal of the research is to teach the immune system to recognize and combat the earliest stages of ovarian cancer, potentially transforming how this deadly disease is approached.
Need for ovarian cancer prevention
Ovarian cancer is a significant health concern, with approximately 7,500 new cases diagnosed annually in the UK alone. It ranks as the sixth most common cancer among women. Currently, there are no established screening programs for ovarian cancer, making early detection challenging. Women with genetic predispositions, particularly those carrying altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, face an increased risk—up to 65% and 35%, respectively. For these women, preventative measures often involve surgical interventions that can lead to early menopause and loss of fertility.
Professor Ahmed Ahmed, director of the Ovarian Cancer Cell Laboratory at Oxford and lead on the OvarianVax project, emphasizes the urgent need for better prevention strategies. He notes that while surgery can prevent cancer in high-risk women, it comes with significant life-altering consequences.
“We need better strategies to prevent ovarian cancer,” Dr Ahmed said in a statement.
“Teaching the immune system to recognise the very early signs of cancer is a tough challenge,” he added. “But we now have highly sophisticated tools, which give us real insights into how the immune system recognises ovarian cancer”.
Road ahead for OvarianVax
The research team will focus on identifying specific proteins in early-stage ovarian cancer cells that can be targeted by the immune system. By training immune cells to recognize over 100 tumour-associated antigens—proteins found on the surface of these cells—the researchers aim to enhance the body’s ability to detect and eliminate potential cancers before they develop. The journey from laboratory research to clinical trials is lengthy; however, this funding marks a crucial step toward making OvarianVax a reality. If successful, this vaccine could not only benefit women at high risk due to genetic factors but also provide a broader preventive measure against ovarian cancer.
Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, highlights that projects like OvarianVax are vital for advancing cancer prevention efforts. She expresses optimism about a future where cancers are more preventable and survivorship rates improve significantly.
Cancer vaccines
Cancer vaccines have made notable strides in recent years. Traditionally, cancer treatment has focused on surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. However, the introduction of vaccines represents a shift towards prevention and early detection. These vaccines work by stimulating the immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells before they can proliferate.The development of vaccines like OvarianVax builds on advancements made during the COVID-19 pandemic, where rapid vaccine development showcased the potential of immunotherapy. The hope is that similar technologies can be harnessed to create effective vaccines against various types of cancers.
Merck signed a $250 million deal with Moderna in October ’23 to develop a therapeutic cancer vaccine personalized for individual patients. The agreement was initially entered in 2016, but Merck is now exercising its option to develop and sell the product The companies will share all costs and profits equally. BioNTech said in a recent interview with BBC that a cancer vaccine could be widely available within the next decade. There is a lung cancer vaccine on the anvil and is being tested on patients for the first time.
In another development, Moderna Inc’s experimental personalized melanoma vaccine combined with Merck & Co’s immunotherapy Keytruda has almost halved the risk of skin cancer’s recurrence or death in a midstage trial.
It will take many years for the ovarian vaccine to reach the market and be widely available to women at risk of ovarian cancer.
As research progresses, collaboration with patient representatives will be essential to ensure that any future vaccine meets the needs and expectations of those most affected by cancer.
