Doctors have begun testing the world's first mRNA lung cancer vaccine in patients, with experts hailing its “breakthrough” potential to save thousands of lives.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, killing approximately 1.8 million people each year, and survival rates are particularly poor in patients with advanced stage tumors that have spread.
Now, experts are testing a new vaccine that tells the body to hunt down and kill cancer cells, preventing the disease from coming back. The vaccine, known as BNT116, is made by BioNTech and is designed to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer.
Phase 1 clinical trials, the first-in-human study of BNT116, have begun at 34 research sites in seven countries: the UK, US, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain and Turkey.
The UK has six vaccination sites across England and Wales, and the first people to receive the vaccine in the UK received their first doses on Tuesday.
Overall, around 130 patients, ranging from those with early-stage cancer before surgery or radiotherapy to later-stage or recurrent cancer, will be enrolled to receive the vaccination alongside their immunotherapy, around 20 of whom will be from the UK.
The vaccine, like the COVID-19 vaccines, uses messenger RNA (mRNA) to present non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor markers to the immune system, preparing the body to fight cancer cells that express these markers.
The goal is to boost a person's immune response against cancer without affecting healthy cells, unlike chemotherapy.
“We are now entering an incredibly exciting new era of clinical trials of mRNA-based immunotherapy to investigate the treatment of lung cancer,” said Professor Sioh Ming Lee, consultant oncologist at University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), who is leading the trial in the UK.
“It's simple to administer and can selectively target specific antigens within cancer cells. This technology is the next big step in cancer treatment.”
Senior research nurse Keansie Nama prepares to administer the first dose of the BNT116 vaccine in the UK. Picture: Aaron Chong/PA
Janusz Lacz, 67, from London, was the first person to receive the vaccine in the UK. He was diagnosed in May and started chemotherapy and radiotherapy shortly after.
The scientist, who specializes in AI, said his profession inspired him to take part in clinical trials: “I'm a scientist too, and I understand that progress in science, and especially medicine, depends on people agreeing to take part in these studies,” he said.
He added: “This is extremely beneficial for me because it's a new method to help cure cancer that's not available to other patients.”
“Also, I get to be part of a team that can provide proof of concept for this new methodology, and the sooner it can be adopted around the world, the more lives will be saved.”
Mr Ratz received six successive injections, five minutes apart, over a 30-minute period at the National Institute for Health Research UCLH Clinical Research Facility on Tuesday.
Each injection contains a different strand of RNA. He will receive the vaccine every week for six consecutive weeks, then every three weeks for 54 weeks.
“For lung cancer patients, the disease often recurs even after surgery and radiation therapy, so we hope that by adding this additional treatment we can prevent the cancer from recurring,” said Lee.
He added: “I've been working in lung cancer for 40 years and when I started in the 1990s, no one believed chemotherapy worked.
“Currently, we know that with immunotherapy, only about 20 to 30 percent of patients survive stage 4, so we're looking to improve that survival rate. So we're hoping that this mRNA vaccine, in addition to immunotherapy, will provide an added benefit.”
“We hope that as it progresses to phase two and three, it will become the standard of care around the world and help many lung cancer patients.”
The Guardian reported in May that the NHS's groundbreaking, life-saving, world-first “matchmaking” scheme will see thousands of patients in England fast-tracked into clinical trials of a groundbreaking cancer vaccine.
Under the scheme, patients who meet the eligibility criteria will be able to take part in clinical trials of a vaccine that experts say could mark a new chapter in cancer treatment.
Science Secretary Lord Vallance welcomed the start of the lung cancer vaccine trial. “This approach has the potential to save the thousands of lives diagnosed with lung cancer each year,” he said. “We are committed to supporting researchers who continue to be an integral part of projects like this that deliver groundbreaking treatments.”
Once her treatment is complete, Ratu hopes to resume running and achieve her lifelong dream of completing the London Marathon.
