Researchers at the University of Oxford have received a £600,000 grant from Cancer Research UK to develop OvarianVax, the world’s first vaccine aimed at preventing ovarian cancer. OvarianVax is designed to teach the immune system to identify and attack early stages of ovarian cancer. This new vaccine is inspired by the success of the HPV vaccine, which has faced legal challenges in the past.
The development of OvarianVax is seen as a promising step in preventing ovarian cancer, especially for women at high risk due to genetic factors. The vaccine’s effectiveness will be tested in lab studies before moving on to clinical trials. If successful, it could potentially be offered to women at risk of ovarian cancer in the future.
Similar to the HPV vaccine, OvarianVax aims to train the immune system to target cancer cells. Despite the controversies surrounding the HPV vaccine, researchers are optimistic about the potential impact of OvarianVax. They believe that with further research and successful trials, the vaccine could make a significant difference in preventing ovarian cancer within the next five years.
“That would provide us with the indication that the vaccine is effective,”
Following that, the next step would involve enrolling women with BRCA mutations and a broader population of healthy women to determine if “the vaccine could be beneficial for everyone” in the prevention of ovarian cancer, according to Ahmed.