Scientists working on a new cancer treatment have taken a major step forward.
The TroVax vaccine, developed by gene therapy firm Oxford BioMedica, has passed its first safety trials.
TroVax is designed to stimulate the patient's immune system to trigger a powerful response to recognise and destroy cancer cells. The immune system plays a key role in fighting illness but often fails to react to the existence of a tumour.
Initial results showed the treatment was safe and produced an immune response in three out of four patients with advanced bowel cancer.
The company said the vaccine was also expected to work on other types of solid tumours.
This first clinical trial, which started in January, confirms a low dose of TroVax causes immune responses. Results for medium and high-dose groups will be released in the first quarter of next year.
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