Cancer vaccine being trialled by NHS may herald ‘dawn of a new age’ of treatments

A new mRNA cancer vaccine being trialled in the UK could herald the “dawn of a new age” of treatments for the disease, a scientist has suggested.

With development of the emerging vaccine technology having been turbocharged by the coronavirus pandemic, British patients are among a global cohort enlisted to trial the safety and efficacy of a vaccine experts hope could lead to a new generation of “off-the-shelf” cancer therapies.

The vaccine – named mRNA-4359 and produced by Moderna – is aimed at people with advanced melanoma, lung cancer and other solid tumour cancers.

While in some cases, vaccines are created specifically for each individual