Hope is rising for cancer patients as the UK begins a landmark clinical trial for a “potentially transformative” vaccine targeting head and neck cancers.

The National Health Service (NHS) said the treatment uses mRNA technology to train the immune system to attack cancerous cells, with the aim of improving survival rates for those facing some of the most aggressive forms of the disease.

NHS officials confirmed that the first patients had already received the jab, with more to be enrolled at participating hospitals in the coming weeks.

The trial, known as AHEAD-MERIT (BNT113), will involve more than 100 patients with advanced disease and will run across 15 hospitals over the next year.

Head and neck cancer refers to malignancies in areas such as the mouth, throat, and voice box, with aggressive types, difficult to treat, often returning after initial therapy, with two-year survival rates falling below 50 per cent.

The vaccine in the study has been developed to produce two proteins commonly found in head and neck cancers linked to high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). These cancers, called squamous cell carcinomas, arise from flat, scale-like cells in the skin and mucous membranes.

According to NHS, the trial is the third to be launched through its Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, supported by the Cancer Research UK-funded Southampton Clinical Trials Unit.