A new mRNA-based vaccine for lung cancer has begun global testing in seven countries, including the UK. The phase 1 clinical trial targets the most common type of lung cancer. The vaccine promises to improve survival rates and prevent relapse, and that gives hope to patients.
1.8 million people die every year from lung cancer Photo Archive
Doctors have begun testing the world’s first vaccine against lung cancer, based on mRNA, The Guardian reports.
Lung cancer takes the most lives, around 1.8 million people die each year from this cause. The survival rate among this condition is low, especially in the case of those with advanced forms of the disease.
Experts are now testing a new injection that teaches the body to hunt down and destroy cancer cells while preventing them from returning. The vaccine, called BNT116 and developed by BioNTech, is aimed at treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of the disease.
The Phase 1 clinical trial, the first human test of BNT116, was launched in 34 research centers in seven countries: UK, US, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain and Turkey.
The vaccine similar to those against Covid-19
A few days ago, the first British patient received the initial dose of the vaccine. In the UK, the study is taking place at six sites in England and Wales.
Around 130 patients, including those with early stages before surgery or radiotherapy, as well as those with advanced or recurrent cancer, will take part in the trial, 20 of whom will be from the UK.
The vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA), similar to the COVID-19 vaccines, and works by presenting tumor markers specific to NSCLC to the immune system. This stimulates the body to fight cancer cells that express these markers, strengthening the immune response and protecting healthy cells, unlike chemotherapy.
“We are now entering this very exciting new era of clinical trials of mRNA-based immunotherapy to investigate the treatment of lung cancer“said Professor Siow Ming Lee, consultant medical oncologist at University College London hospitals NHS foundation trust (UCLH), who is leading the study in the UK.
“It’s simple to administer and you can select specific antigens in the cancer cell and then target them. This technology represents the next big step in cancer treatment.“, said the oncologist.
A scientist tries to get rid of cancer
Janusz Racz, 67, from London, was the first UK patient to receive the vaccine. Diagnosed in May, he began chemotherapy and radiation therapy soon after.
An artificial intelligence specialist, Racz said his profession motivated him to participate in the study. “I am a scientist myself, and I understand that the progress of science – especially in medicine – lies in the fact that people agree to be involved in such investigations,he said.
He added: “It would be very beneficial for me as it is a new methodology which is not available for other patients and that can help me get rid of cancer. And I can also be part of the team that can provide the proof of concept for this new methodology, and the faster it is implemented worldwide, the more people will be saved.”
On Tuesday, Janusz Racz received six successive injections, each given five minutes apart, over 30 minutes at the National Institute for Health Research UCLH Clinical Research Facility. Each injection contained different RNA sequences. He will continue treatment weekly for six weeks and then receive the vaccine every three weeks for 54 weeks.
Professor Siow Ming Lee said, “We hope that adding this additional treatment will stop the cancer from coming back, because many times for lung cancer patients, even after surgery and radiation, it comes back.”
He added: “I have been in lung cancer research for 40 years. When I started in the 1990s, nobody believed that chemotherapy worked. We now know that about 20-30% (of patients) stay alive with stage 4 with immunotherapy, and now we want to improve survival rates. So the hope is that this mRNA vaccine, on top of immunotherapy, could provide an additional boost.”
“We hope to move to phase 2, phase 3 and then hopefully it will become the standard of care worldwide and save a lot of lung cancer patients“, he also said.
More patients in Great Britain will test cancer vaccines, as part of a program of the health system in this country.
The program gives eligible patients access to clinical trials for innovative vaccines in the treatment of cancer. Lord Vallance, the science minister, praised the lung cancer vaccine study.
“This approach has the potential to save the lives of thousands of people diagnosed with lung cancer each year. We support our researchers to continue to be an integral part of projects that produce breakthrough therapies like thissaid Lord Vallance.
Racz hopes that after treatment he will be able to resume running and fulfill his dream of completing the London Marathon.
The new vaccine can also represent hope for Romanian patients, almost 12,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed annually in Romania. Only a quarter of patients survive.
