Trials for a lung cancer vaccine have commenced across seven countries, marking a potential breakthrough in treating and preventing the deadly disease. The vaccine, which aims to eliminate lung cancer and prevent its recurrence, was first administered in the UK to Janusz Racz, 67.

Known as BNT116, this vaccine targets non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of the disease. Racz received BioNTech’s mRNA-based immunotherapy at University College London Hospital as part of the trial, which involves 34 research sites across the UK, the US, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain, and Turkey.

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The phase 1 clinical trial is being conducted at six locations in Wales and England, with 30 out of 130 participants being from Britain.

Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with over 1.8 million fatalities each year, has a particularly low survival rate when tumors metastasize.

In the UK alone, around 48,500 cases are reported annually, with tobacco use responsible for up to 72% of these cases, making it the top preventable cause of cancer globally.

The cancer vaccine works by “instructing” the immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells, preventing their return. Similar to the mRNA technology used in Covid-19 vaccines, this vaccine primes the immune system by presenting it with tumor markers from NSCLC, enabling it to target and combat cancer cells expressing these markers.

Professor Siow Ming Lee of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) highlighted the significance of this development, stating that the new mRNA-based immunotherapy represents the next major phase in cancer treatment, offering a simple delivery method that allows for the selection of specific antigens in cancer cells to effectively target them.