Cardiff University scientists are leading research into the development of a potential universal bowel cancer vaccine, thanks to new support from the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK.
The Fund – established in 2022 to continue the legacy of the late Dame Deborah James – has surpassed a £20m milestone and has announced two new major research investments, including a Cardiff University-led project that aims to revolutionise future treatment and prevention of bowel cancer.
Professor Andrew Godkin and Professor Awen Gallimore, based in Cardiff University's School of Medicine, will lead research to explore designing an accessible and scalable cancer vaccine for bowel cancer.
Current bowel cancer vaccines in clinical trials must be individually tailored to each patient, making them expensive, complex and out of reach for many. The Cardiff University team aims to overcome these barriers by modifying specific antigens produced by bowel cancer cells so they can be more easily recognised and destroyed by the immune system.
This approach seeks to create an "off‑the‑shelf" universal vaccine capable of treating far greater numbers of patients. If successful, the team hopes their findings could also be used to prevent bowel cancer in high‑risk individuals and pave the way for pioneering new vaccines for a range of other cancer types.
Professor Godkin and Professor Gallimore, who run a joint laboratory, are internationally recognised for their research into T-cell biology.
Professor Godkin said: "We, and the team, are incredibly humbled by the support shown to us by Dame Deborah James's family. Our research is focused on helping the body's immune system better recognise cancer. We do this by slightly changing certain proteins made by cancer cells, to make them more visible to the immune system. Because these proteins are found in many types of cancer, we hope this approach could work for a wide range of patients, rather than needing a different treatment for each individual. We're still in the early stages, but the results so far are very encouraging."
With this support, we'll be able to move faster and bring this research closer to making a real difference for patients.
Dame Deborah James, known as Bowelbabe, was just 35 years old when she was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in December 2016, which went on to become stage 4. The initial fundraising goal was £250,000, but within the first 24 hours, it reached over £1m. Now, almost four years on, the total raised stands at an incredible £20.5m.
Chief executive of Cancer Research UK, Michelle Mitchell, said: "Reaching this £20m milestone is a true testament to Deborah's incredible legacy. With the help of everyone who has donated, fundraised or helped to spread vital health information, as well as the tireless efforts of Deborah's family, her impact on the lives of people affected by cancer will continue to be felt for years to come."
Thanks to research, more than half of people diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK will survive the disease. But there is still much more to do. These new projects announced today are another example of the hope and progress being fuelled by research in Dame Deborah's name.
Dame Deborah James' mother, Heather James, said:"Deborah would be absolutely over the moon if she were here today to see this. I don't think any of us ever imagined reaching the £20m milestone when she first set up the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK almost four years ago.
"She was so passionate about supporting research that would help give more people affected by cancer more time with their loved ones. Thanks to the wonderful generosity of everyone who has donated, walked, ran or even danced for Deborah, we've been able to come together once again as a family to choose another round of projects to support. I can almost feel her excitement in the room each time we do.
"And I know exactly what she'd be saying now: 'Right, how can we raise even more?' That was Deborah to the core, always wanting to do more and we're so proud to be continuing what she started."
