Development of a new vaccine that “self-destructs cancer-causing moles”

The British Francis Crick Institute has developed a type of vaccine that “self-destructs moles” without the need for surgery.

Small skin moles are very common and appear when pigment-producing cells, called melanocytes, grow in clusters.

There is a rare skin condition caused by genetic mutations in the womb, called congenital melanocytic nevus syndrome (CMN), which can result in 80% of the body being covered in large or itchy moles, increasing the risk of developing the most severe types of skin cancer.

Scientists designed the vaccine in cooperation with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), which treats young people with this condition.

Experimental mice infected with CMN received injections containing the treatment, which blocked a mutated gene in mole cells called NRAS, after only 48 hours, causing the cells to self-destruct.

Scientists also tested it on whole skin cells and sections from children with CMN, with the same results, which were published in the journal Investigate Dermatology.

Veronica Kinsler, a professor at GOSH, said: “CMN is physically and mentally challenging for children and adults with the condition and for their families. These results are very exciting, as gene therapy not only causes mole cells to self-destruct in the laboratory, but we have been able to deliver them to the skin in “These results suggest that a future treatment could destroy moles in humans, but more testing will be needed before we can give it to patients.”

Scientists said they hoped the treatment, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), would soon begin clinical trials in humans.