, 2025-04-14 13:53:00
Skin cancer patients are set to be fast-tracked into a clinical trial for a new cancer vaccine, NHS England has announced.
The vaccine, called iSCIB1+, is designed to help the immune system better recognise and attack cancer cells. It is being tested in a phase 2 trial known as the SCOPE study.
The trial is part of NHS England’s Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP), a national programme that matches eligible patients with cancer vaccine trials at nearby hospitals. The initiative is coordinated by the University of Southampton’s Clinical Trials Unit.
Promising New Approach to Immunotherapy
The iSCIB1+ vaccine is a needle-free, DNA-based treatment administered over up to 2 years. It is intended to enhance patients’ responses to existing immunotherapies for advanced melanoma.
Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, accounting for about 5% of new cancer cases annually. Around 17,500 new cases are diagnosed each year. While immunotherapy is a standard treatment, only around half of patients with advanced melanoma respond to it.
The vaccine targets biomarkers on melanoma tumours, prompting the immune system to attack the cancer. The treatment may also create an immune “memory” to prevent recurrence.
Trial Aims and Early Results
The SCOPE trial is an open label, multicohort, multicentre study. It is evaluating both SCIB1 and the more potent iSCIB1+ in patients with advanced unresectable melanoma. Participants are receiving either nivolumab with ipilimumab or pembrolizumab.
The trial aims to:
- Assess whether SCIB1 or iSCIB1+ improves treatment outcomes.
- Determine whether the vaccines extend the duration of immunotherapy effectiveness.
- Monitor side effects of the combined treatments.
Early data from Scancell, the vaccine’s developer, showed encouraging results in the first 25 patients treated with SCIB1 plus ipilimumab and nivolumab:
- 80% progression-free survival at 6 months.
- 20% complete response rate.
- 84% disease control rate.
- 72% clinical response rate.
Expert Support for the Trial
Professor Gareth Griffiths, director of the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, said the trial’s inclusion in the CVLP could increase referrals and “give more patients with advanced melanoma access to new, potentially life-saving treatments.”
Dr Heather Shaw, a consultant medical oncologist at University College London Hospital, described the emerging data as “striking” and said SCIB1 “would be a significant addition” to current first-line treatments for advanced melanoma.
Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, called the CVLP “an important route to fast-track this technology into clinical trials.”
Susanna Daniels, CEO of Melanoma Focus, added: “The use of vaccines to treat melanoma is an exciting development and we will be encouraging eligible patients to take part in these ground-breaking trials.”
Dr Rob Hicks is a retired NHS doctor. A well-known TV and radio broadcaster, he has written three books and has regularly contributed to national newspapers, magazines, and online. He is based in the UK.