First lung cancer vaccine trial begins

Doctors have begun testing the first lung cancer vaccine on patients. The vaccine uses technology messenger RNA (mRNA)) It is the same one used in some COVID-19 vaccines to give instructions to patients’ immune systems.

The vaccine, known as BNT116 and made by BioNTech, is designed to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) – the most common form of the disease.

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The principle is to strengthen a person’s immune response against cancer, while leaving healthy cells untouched, unlike what happens in chemotherapy.

About 34 research centers in seven countries, including: University College London (UCL)In the UK, it will recruit 130 patients to test the vaccine.

British man gets first lung cancer vaccine

Unlike vaccines that immunize against infectious diseases, such as measles, BNT116 is intended for people who have already had the disease.

This is the case of British scientist Janusz Racz, 67. The first patient to be vaccinated, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in May this year. He immediately began chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

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During the treatment, Rakez received six consecutive injections, with different strands of RNA, over a 30-minute period. He will receive the vaccine for six consecutive weeks and then every three weeks for 54 weeks.

“As a scientist, I understand that the progress of science, especially medicine, depends on people agreeing to participate in such investigations,” the Briton told the newspaper. The Guardian.

Clinical trials From the vaccine

Professor Siu Ming Lee, an oncologist and consultant physician at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), is leading the UK trial. He explains that the trials are entering a new phase, namely mRNA-based immunotherapy for lung cancer.

“It’s easy to apply, and you can identify specific antigens on the cancer cell and then target them,” the oncologist commented. The Guardian“This technology is the next big step in cancer treatment.”

The purpose of the vaccine, according to Lee, is to prevent recurrence. “We hope this additional treatment will prevent the cancer from coming back,” the doctor says. “Often for patients with lung cancer, even after surgery and radiation, the disease comes back.”

Read also: “A British professor is the first in the world to obtain a vaccine against bowel cancer.”