Doctors have started testing the world’s first mRNA lung cancer vaccine in patients. This vaccine, known as BNT116 and made by BioNTech, is being trialed in 34 research sites across seven countries: the UK, US, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain, and Turkey. In the UK, there are six sites located in England and Wales.

The vaccine is designed to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which is the most common form of the disease. It aims to instruct the body to identify and destroy cancer cells and prevent their recurrence. The first UK patient to receive the vaccine had their initial dose on Tuesday.

The phase 1 clinical trial will enroll about 130 patients at various stages of the disease, ranging from early-stage before surgery or radiotherapy to late-stage or recurrent cancer. Approximately 20 patients will be from the UK.

The vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA), similar to Covid-19 vaccines, to present the immune system with specific markers from NSCLC. This primes the body to fight cancer cells expressing these markers, with the goal of boosting the immune response to cancer while leaving healthy cells unaffected, unlike chemotherapy.

Currently, cancer immunotherapy is rapidly developing, including the use of monoclonal antibodies, adoptive T-cells, and mRNA vaccines. Due to their extensive use during the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA vaccines are proving to be a promising therapeutic strategy for various medical fields, such as oncology. A number of clinical trials aim to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these vaccines in the treatment of solid tumors.

Clinical Trial Details