Ground breaking Lung Cancer Vaccine Trials Begin Across Seven Countries

Department of Research, Strategic Studies and International Relations 23-08-2024

A historic trial for the first-ever mRNA lung cancer vaccine has commenced across seven nations, with the UK being one of the participating countries.

The first UK patient has now received a dose of the vaccine, which aims to combat the most prevalent type of lung cancer and prevent its recurrence.

In what experts are calling a revolutionary development in cancer treatment, doctors are now testing this mRNA-based vaccine on lung cancer patients, offering new hope in the battle against a disease responsible for approximately 1.8 million deaths annually.

Survival rates for advanced stages of lung cancer, where the disease has spread, remain alarmingly low.

The vaccine, identified as BNT116 and developed by Bio NTech, is specifically designed to target non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most widespread form of the disease.

The phase 1 clinical trial, marking the first human study of BNT116, is being conducted at 34 research centers across the UK, US, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain, and Turkey.

Within the UK, six sites have been selected in England and Wales, with the initial patient receiving their first dose earlier this week.

In total, around 130 patients will be enrolled in the study, including those at early stages before surgery or radiotherapy, as well as those with late-stage or recurrent cancer. Approximately 20 of these patients will be from the UK.

Utilizing messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, similar to that used in Covid-19 vaccines, the jab works by presenting the immune system with specific markers from NSCLC tumors, effectively priming the body to attack cancer cells expressing these markers.

This approach aims to enhance the body’s immune response to cancer while sparing healthy cells, a significant improvement over traditional chemotherapy.

Professor Siow Ming Lee, a consultant medical oncologist at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), which is leading the trial in the UK, described the trial as a significant step forward in cancer treatment. “We are now entering a very exciting era of mRNA-based immunotherapy clinical trials to explore new ways to treat lung cancer,” he said.

One of the first UK participants is 67-year-old Janusz Racz from London, who was diagnosed in May and has since undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Racz, a scientist specializing in AI, expressed his motivation to join the trial, citing his understanding of the importance of scientific progress through participation in research.

He sees the trial as a chance to access a cutting-edge treatment that could potentially eliminate his cancer while also contributing to the broader scientific community.

Racz’s treatment involves receiving six consecutive injections, each five minutes apart, at the National Institute for Health Research UCLH Clinical Research Facility.

The plan is for him to receive the vaccine weekly for six weeks, followed by injections every three weeks for the next 54 weeks.

Professor Lee emphasized the potential of this new treatment to prevent cancer recurrence, a common issue for lung cancer patients even after surgery and radiation. “We hope this additional treatment will stop the cancer from coming back,” he stated.

With over 40 years of experience in lung cancer research, Lee expressed optimism about the future of cancer treatment. “When I started in the 1990s, few believed in the efficacy of chemotherapy.

Now, immunotherapy keeps 20-30% of patients with stage 4 cancer alive, and we hope this mRNA vaccine can improve those rates even further.”

As the trial progresses, researchers aim to move on to phases 2 and 3, with the hope that the vaccine could eventually become a standard treatment worldwide, saving countless lives.

The launch of this trial comes as part of a broader initiative revealed in May, where thousands of patients in England were fast-tracked into cutting-edge cancer vaccine trials as part of an innovative NHS “matchmaking” scheme designed to save lives.

Lord Vallance, the UK’s science minister, praised the launch of the lung cancer vaccine trial, highlighting its potential to save thousands of lives each year.

“This method could dramatically impact lung cancer treatment outcomes,” he said, affirming the government’s commitment to supporting groundbreaking research.