Vaccines for cancer prevention
By 2050, cancer will be the primary cause of death worldwide, with 35 million new cases diagnosed annually. Evidence shows that most cancers take years or even decades to develop from normal cells to precancerous cells (or precancer) to cancer, providing opportunities for prevention.
Our scientists at Oxford University have world-leading expertise in the study of the immune system, vaccinology and precancer biology, including the identification and sequencing of cancer-specific proteins that prompt the immune system to recognise cancer. This unique focus could help target the vulnerabilities of precancerous cells through an active intervention like a vaccine to prevent them from progressing to cancer.
Projects in progress
We have generated a pipeline of projects aiming to develop vaccines for cancer prevention. Each vaccine is being designed to boost the immune system to recognise and eradicate pre-cancers or cancers. These vaccine programmes operate within the Oxford Cancer Vaccine Hub, which draws together the expertise required for vaccine target identification, design, development, manufacture and testing.
Each vaccine programme is at a different stage of development along the pathway to clinical testing:
LungVax
Researchers at the University of Oxford led by Professors Sarah Blagden (Department of Oncology) and Tim Elliott (Nuffield Department of Medicine), in collaboration with the Francis Crick Institute and University College London, with support from Cancer Research UK and the CRIS Cancer Foundation are developing LungVax, a vaccine aimed at preventing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This vaccine uses technology similar to the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and is designed to train the immune system to recognise neoantigens—abnormal proteins on the surface of cancer cells—thereby enabling the immune system to target and eliminate these cells. The team is currently conducting laboratory research to demonstrate the vaccine's ability to elicit a robust immune response, with plans to advance to a clinical trial if successful.
OvarianVax
Scientists led by Professor Ahmed Ahmed (Nuffield Department of Women’s Reproductive Health) are designing OvarianVax, a vaccine which teaches the immune system to recognise and attack the earliest stages of ovarian cancer. In this study, the Cancer Research UK-funded scientists will establish the targets for the vaccine. They will find out which proteins on the surface of early-stage ovarian cancer cells are most strongly recognised by the immune system and how effectively the vaccine kills mini-models of ovarian cancer called organoids.
If this research is successful, work will then begin on clinical trials of the vaccine. The hope is that in the future, women could be offered this vaccine to prevent ovarian cancer in the first place.
LynchVax
Lynch syndrome is a heritable genetic condition. It is caused by an altered copy of one of a small number of our genes involved in processes that help repair our DNA. Failure to repair DNA can cause damage in genes that control growth, increasing the risk of cancer. Around 175,000–200,000 people are estimated to have Lynch syndrome in the UK.
People with Lynch syndrome have a higher overall risk of developing bowel cancer, as well as other types of cancer including womb cancer and ovarian cancer. Up to 7 in 10 people with Lynch syndrome will develop bowel cancer in their lifetime.
Associate Professor David Church (Nuffield Department of Medicine) is leading a team in Oxford to analyse pre-cancer and cancer samples from people with Lynch syndrome. They will identify parts of the pre-cancer that can be targeted by a vaccine. With this knowledge, the researchers believe they could design a vaccine that teaches the immune system to recognise pre-cancer cells and destroy them before they become cancer.
GSK-Oxford Immuno-prevention Programme
In January 2025, GSK plc and the University of Oxford announced that they have entered a new research collaboration focused on the potential of cancer prevention through vaccination. The GSK-Oxford Cancer Immuno-Prevention Programme will conduct translational research, exploring precancer biology to generate key insights on how cancer develops in humans that could inform new approaches to cancer vaccination.
GSK will invest up to £50 million over a minimum of three years to support this early research. The programme is directed by Professor Sarah Blagden (Department of Oncology, University of Oxford) and Dr Timothy Clay and Dr Ramon Kemp (GSK), and involves Oxford researchers from four departments.
Patient and public consultation
A crucial part of developing new vaccines that aim to prevent cancer is to engage with the people that we hope will benefit. Through these consultations, we aim to understand the acceptability of vaccination and any barriers to participation in clinical trials or, in the future, wider roll-out of the vaccine.
Through the Oxford Cancer PPI group, we have organised a series of events seeking the opinion of people who may be offered vaccination in the future. Their input is directly affecting our research and the design of our studies.