University of Oxford researchers are developing OvarianVax, the world’s first vaccine to eradicate ovarian cancer. This vaccine trains the immune system to detect and eliminate the earliest stages of ovarian cancer. If effective, the NHS could administer it preventatively.
Professor Ahmed Ahmed, who directs the ovarian cancer cell laboratory at Oxford’s MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, and his team target specific proteins on early-stage ovarian cancer cells. They will test these targets in the lab, followed by clinical trials on individuals with BRCA gene mutations and healthy women, to evaluate the vaccine’s effectiveness.
“It’s a really exciting time,” Prof Ahmed said, optimistic about the vaccine’s potential to wipe out ovarian cancer.
Cancer Research UK is supporting the project with a £600,000 grant over three years. Outcomes are anticipated within four to five years.
The vaccine could significantly alter the lives of women with BRCA gene mutations. Typically advised to remove their ovaries by age 35 to prevent cancer—a procedure leading to early menopause—these women might find a viable alternative in the vaccine, according to Prof Ahmed.
The vaccine will also be trialled in a wider female population to test its preventive properties. While full approval may be years away, the researchers are hopeful about its initial impact.
With around 7,500 new cases of ovarian cancer each year in the UK, OvarianVax offers a promising approach to long-term cancer prevention.
