World’s first ovarian cancer vaccine: University of Oxford awarded £600,000 for OvarianVax

By 2038-2040, approximately 9,400 new cases of ovarian cancer are projected annually in the UK

Researchers at the University of Oxford have received a grant of up to £600,000 from Cancer Research UK to develop the world's first vaccine to prevent ovarian cancer.

Named OvarianVax, the innovative vaccine aims to train the immune system to recognise and attack the earliest stages of ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer among women in the UK, with approximately 7,500 new cases diagnosed annually—equating to about 21 cases each day.

It is also a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, with around 4,100 deaths each year, accounting for five per cent of all cancer deaths in UK females.

Projections suggest that by 2038-2040, there could be around 9,400 new cases of ovarian cancer annually in the UK.

Several factors influence a person's risk of developing ovarian cancer, including age, genetics, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), smoking, asbestos exposure, medical conditions such as endometriosis or diabetes, and obesity.

Faults in the inherited genes, particularly BRCA1 and BRCA2, are linked to a higher risk of ovarian cancer, contributing to 5-15 per cent of cases.

Currently, women with these genetic mutations who are at high risk are often advised to undergo surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes to prevent developing ovarian cancer. However, this procedure also eliminates their ability to have children.

Professor Ahmed Ahmed, who leads the OvarianVax project, is hopeful that the vaccine could provide an alternative preventive solution for high-risk women.

“Teaching the immune system to recognise the very early signs of cancer is a tough challenge. But we now have highly sophisticated tools, which give us real insights into how the immune system recognises ovarian cancer,” he explained.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, emphasised that projects like OvarianVax are a key advancement toward a future where cancer is much more preventable.

“This funding will power crucial discoveries in the lab which will realise our ambitions to improve ovarian cancer survival,” she added.

The research will begin with identifying proteins on the surface of early-stage ovarian cancer cells that are recognised by the immune system. The team will also test the vaccine’s effectiveness on organoids—mini-models of ovarian cancer in the lab. If successful, the next step would involve clinical trials.

While the project is promising, it will take several years before the vaccine could become widely available to women at risk of ovarian cancer.