LTHT is participating in an NHS England initiative aimed at increasing access to a clinical trial investigating mRNA cancer vaccines for patients with advanced head and neck cancer.
The trial, known as AHEAD-MERIT (BNT113-01), is part of the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP), nationally coordinated by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, which aims to speed up access to mRNA cancer vaccine trials.
NHS England is partnering with life sciences company BioNTech to help identify potentially eligible patients to refer to NHS hospitals running the clinical trial.
The vaccines under investigation uses mRNA technology to help the immune system recognise and respond to cancer cells containing proteins linked to human papillomavirus (HPV-16).
The trial at LTHT is being supported by the Leeds NIHR Clinical Research Facility, who have previously facilitated referrals to the CVLP for colorectal cancer patients.