Vaccine trains immune system to target HPV-Linked cancers
NCT ID NCT03418480
First seen Sep 16, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are testing a vaccine called BNT113 in people whose cancers are driven by HPV16, a common virus linked to head and neck, cervical, and anogenital tumors. The trial enrolls two groups: one with head and neck cancer that has been treated and shows no signs of disease, and another with advanced or recurrent HPV16-positive cancers. Participants receive the vaccine intravenously in escalating doses to find a safe and tolerable dose. The study also looks at how the immune system responds to the vaccine.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- BNT113, an experimental therapeutic vaccine given into a vein that targets HPV16
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a vaccine that helps the immune system clear or control HPV16-driven cancers, possibly with fewer side effects than standard treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase trial with only 32 participants, so it mainly checks safety and dose. The vaccine may not shrink tumors, and immune reactions or other side effects could limit its use.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1/2
Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.
- Participants
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32 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Apr 2017
- Finished
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Jan 2024
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Arm 1A: * Previous HPV16+ head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. * At least 12 months after completion of treatment. * Within 5 years of treatment completion. * Currently no clinical evidence of disease. * ECOG performance status 0 or 1. Arm 1B: * HPV16+ head and neck, cervical, anogenital and penile carcinoma patients with recurrent disease. * Intention to treat is palliative. * Patient willing to have repeated tumour biopsies and re-biopsy deemed safe and feasible clinically. * Tissue samples available confirming HPV16+ disease to send to Central Laboratory. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients unable to consent. * Any patient who has been previously vaccinated in any Arm of the trial. * \<18 years * Systemic steroids (prednisolone \>10 mg/day or equivalent) or other drugs with a likely effect on immune competence are forbidden during the trial. The predictable need of their use will preclude the patient from trial entry. Replacement steroids for adrenal insufficiency/failure are allowed. * Major surgery in the preceding three to four weeks, which the patient has not yet recovered from. * Patients who are of high medical risk because of non-malignant systemic disease, as well as those with active uncontrolled infection. * Patients with clinically relevant autoimmune disease will be excluded. * Patients who are known to be allergic to any of the excipients or constituents of the vaccine * Patients with any other condition which in the Investigator's opinion would not make the patient a good candidate for the clinical trial, such as concurrent congestive heart failure or prior history of New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III/IV cardiac disease. * Current malignancies at other sites, with the exception of adequately treated basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Cancer survivors, who have undergone potentially curative therapy for a prior malignancy, have no evidence of that disease for five years and are deemed at low risk for recurrence, are eligible for the study. * Patients who are serologically positive for or are known to suffer from Hepatitis B, C, Syphilis or HIV. Counselling will be offered to all patients prior to testing. * Patients who have a positive pregnancy test or who are breast feeding. * Fertile males or females who are unable or unwilling to use an effective method of birth control (eg. condom with spermicide, diaphragm with spermicide, birth control pills, injections, patches, intrauterine device, or intrauterine hormone-releasing system) during study treatment and until 28 days after patients finish the study treatment. * Elevated Liver Function Tests - ALT \>3.0 x ULN, AST \>3.0 x ULN, Bilirubin \>3.0 x ULN. * Any other investigational drug within 28 days or 5 half-lives depending on what gives the longer range before the first treatment of this study
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Manchester, M20 4BX, United Kingdom
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Univeristy Hospitals Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 6YD, United Kingdom
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