A new mRNA cancer vaccine made by pharmaceutical firm Moderna is being trialled in British patients.

The mRNA technology - which was adapted to make COVID-19 jabs - works by helping the body recognise and fight cancer cells.

Experts believe these vaccines may lead to a new generation of "off-the-shelf" cancer therapies.

Once in the body, the mRNA (a genetic material) 'teaches' the immune system how cancer cells differ to healthy cells and mobilises it to destroy them.

mRNA cancer vaccines from firms like BioNTech, Merck and Moderna have been undergoing testing in small trials across the globe, with promising results.

In the latest development, British patients are trialling a vaccine called mRNA-4359 as part of an early-stage clinical trial that will initially look at safety as well as effectiveness.

The vaccine is aimed at people with advanced melanoma, lung cancer and other solid tumour cancers.

An 81-year-old man, who is taking part in the trial arm run by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, was the first UK person to receive the vaccine at Hammersmith Hospital in late October.

The man, from Surrey, who does not wish to be named, has malignant melanoma skin cancer which is not responding to treatment.

"I had a different immunotherapy, I had radiotherapy, the only thing I didn't have was chemotherapy. So, the options were either do nothing and wait, or get involved and do something," he explained.

"I'm extremely grateful to the hospitals and the individuals that are running these trials.

"Somehow we have to change the fact that one in every two people get cancer at some point, and we have to make the odds better."

Between 40 and 50 patients are being recruited across the globe for the trial, known as Mobilize, including in London, Spain, the US and Australia, although it could be expanded.

Dr Kyle Holen, head of development, therapeutics and oncology at Moderna, told PA news agency the vaccine may be able to treat a range of cancers.

"We currently are studying both melanoma patients and lung cancer patients, but we believe that there's an opportunity for this vaccine in the Mobilize trial to treat many other cancers.

"We believe it could be effective in head-neck cancer, we believe it could be effective in bladder cancer, we believe it could be effective in kidney cancer.

"So there's a lot of cancers where we think this vaccine can be effective.

"But we're starting out with the two that we think have the highest probability of being effective and that is melanoma and lung cancer."