1st lung cancer vaccine trials launch, powered by COVID mRNA technology – National

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1st lung ******* vaccine trials launch, powered by COVID mRNA technology – National

The mRNA revolution continues. Just a few years after mRNA vaccines proved their efficacy against COVID-19, scientists are now turning their attention to lung *******.

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The mRNA vaccine, known as BTN116, developed by the ******* biotechnology company BioNTech, is the first of its kind and has entered phase 1 clinical trials in seven countries, including the ******* States and the ******* Kingdom. This vaccine is designed to treat non-small cell lung ******* (NSCLC), the most common form of the ********.

“Lung ******* is the biggest ******* worldwide. And using the mRNA technology, this is just a first generation,” said medical oncologist Siow Ming Lee, a consultant medical oncologist at University College London Hospitals (UCHL) Clinical Research Facility, which is leading the trial in the U.K.

“But hopefully, it’s a beginning, and it can lead to a better outcome for lung ******* patients worldwide, not only the U.K. but other places like Canada, America and China,” he told Global News.

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The vaccine works by identifying and targeting ******* cells, Lee said, and is designed to complement other lung ******* treatments, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

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4:59
Could mRNA vaccines be used to combat other ********* like *******?

Phase 1 clinical trials have been launched across 34 research sites in seven countries: the U.K., the U.S., Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain and Turkey. In the U.S.,

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, accepting people at both early and late stages of the ********.

“It’s very exciting. When we look back less than four years ago with the mRNA COVID vaccine, people had doubts and there was uncertainty, but it definitely works,” Lee said. “I think people need to remember the COVID-19 vaccine worked for ******* patients. It reduced mortality more than the general population.”

In Canada, lung ******* is the most commonly diagnosed ******* and the leading cause of ******* deaths. According to

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, more than 20,000 Canadians will **** from lung ******* this year — more than the combined deaths from *******, prostate and colon cancers.

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The ******** is also the leading cause of

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, with 1.8 million fatalities in 2020, accounting for the highest mortality rates among both men and women.

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Although treatments like chemotherapy, immunotherapy, surgery and radiation are available, lung ******* is often diagnosed at advanced stages, leaving fewer treatment options,

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.

But the mRNA technology could represent the next major advancement in ******* treatment by training the immune system to target and ****** lung ******* cells, Lee said.

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4:36
Lung ******* in non-smokers on the rise

The development of the lung ******* vaccine began four years ago, following the successful creation of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna, Lee explained.

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Not only did the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine prove safe and effective in protecting against the virus, but the scientific community also observed

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among ******* patients, he said.

Although mRNA technology has been in development for decades, it gained prominence with the success of COVID-19 vaccines, proving its effectiveness in combating viruses.

The technology works by using messenger RNA to deliver instructions to the body to produce proteins that prepare the immune system to target specific viruses. This same principle can be applied to harness the immune system against tumours.

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An injection of a BioNTech mRNA ******* immunotherapy for non-small cell lung ******* (NSCLC) – known as BNT116 – at the University College London Hospital clinical research facility in central London, as part of the first clinical trial for the lung ******* immunotherapy in the ***.

Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images

“The COVID vaccine targeted against a spike protein for the virus,” Lee said.

“So we’re going to use that very simple technology to target the ******* protein, so we identified a common protein in lung ******* patients… and there are many other proteins as well for melanoma and other cancers… but this is a lung ******* patient. We’re going to raise this mRNA vaccine against the protein and then it will hunt the lung *******.”

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But this cannot be done alone, he stressed.

The mRNA vaccine needs to be in combination with other treatments, like chemotherapy, depending on how severe the ******* is.

Janusz Racz, a 67-year-old lung ******* patient from the U.K., was the first to receive the vaccine as part of the clinical trials that started on Tuesday.

“I thought it over, and … decided to take part because I hoped it would provide a defense against ******* cells. But I also thought that my participation in this research could help other people in the future and help this therapy become more widely available,”

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UCLH consultant medical oncologist Siow Ming Lee and Dr Sarah Benafif talking with patient Janusz Racz before receiving an injection of a BioNTech mRNA ******* immunotherapy.

Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images

Unlike the COVID-19 vaccine, which requires just one to two shots, the lung ******* treatment involves multiple doses.

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So far, Racz has received six consecutive injections five minutes apart over 30 minutes, Lee said. He will get the vaccine every week for six consecutive weeks, and then every three weeks for 54 weeks.

The goal is to eradicate the ******* and prevent its return. However, Lee emphasized that it’s still early days, as the vaccine is currently in phase 1 of clinical trials. Following successful safety trials, Lee anticipates the vaccine will enter phase 2 in 2025.

“It’s a long journey ahead. But hopefully, we can kickstart this vaccine research the way we were able to kickstart with the COVID vaccine,” he said.

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