credit, Palestinian Authority Media
- author, Michelle Roberts
- roll, BBC News Digital Health Editor
A 67-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to trial what doctors hope will be a revolutionary new treatment for lung cancer – a vaccine that tells the body how to fight and kill the disease.
An early-stage clinical trial that Janusz Racz is involved in will determine whether the vaccine is safe.
Some 34 research centres in seven countries, including University College London (UCL), in the UK, will recruit 130 patients to test it.
highly targeted
The treatment must specifically target the cancer cells to be destroyed — rather than healthy cells, which means fewer side effects.
The vaccine contains information about different markers on the surface of lung cancer cells to teach the patient's immune system what to find and fight.
Experts say the BNT116 vaccine, made by German biotech company BioNTech, could be a game changer.
“We hope to usher in a new era of mRNA vaccine therapy for lung cancer,” Siu-Ming Lee, who is leading the UK clinical trial, told the BBC's Today programme.
“We hope that in combination with the current standard treatment — immunotherapy and chemotherapy — we can provide additional immune boosting.”
London-based Rakez says he is open to trying new things.
“I hope it will provide a defense against cancer cells. But I also believe that my participation in this research could help others in the future, and help make this treatment more widely available.”
“As a scientist, I know that science can only advance if people agree to participate in programs like this.”
Rakesh, who works in artificial intelligence, was diagnosed with lung cancer after experiencing some breathing problems that he thought might be due to asthma.
An imaging test (for an unrelated problem) revealed a tumor in his right lung.
Callie Palmer, national director of oncology at NHS England, the public health service in England, believes vaccines like this could be “revolutionary” in immunising people against cancer to prevent the disease coming back.
“Being diagnosed with cancer is very stressful, but access to innovative clinical trials – along with other innovations to diagnose and treat cancer earlier – gives hope.”
“We expect to see thousands of patients participate in clinical trials in the coming years,” she added.
The clinical trial will recruit people with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from early stage disease before surgery or radiation therapy, through advanced stage disease or cancer relapse — to receive the vaccine alongside standard immunotherapy.
Unlike vaccines that protect us from infectious diseases like measles, cancer vaccines are for people who already have the disease.
They help the body's immune system recognize and attack cancer cells.
Some, like this one, are developed based on common markers that tend to occur only in cancer cells. Others are customized or designed specifically to target a particular tumor in an individual.
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “We are delighted to see another cancer vaccine trial opening in the UK, allowing more patients to access cutting-edge treatments.”
“The science that helped us get through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to show promise as a potential treatment option for patients.”
“Although it is at a very early stage, we are keen to see how the study progresses,” he added.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with an estimated 1.8 million deaths in 2020. Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common type of the disease.
Generally, there are no signs or symptoms in the early stages, but reasons to see a doctor include:
– A cough that does not go away after a few weeks.
– A long-term cough that gets worse.
– Recurrent chest infections.
