Lung cancer treatment: New vaccine trial begins at University College London Hospitals

A 67-year-old lung cancer patient from London is the first to receive the vaccine at University College London Hospitals (UCLH)

A groundbreaking immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is being trialed in the UK for the first time, with the NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility (CRF) as the lead research site.

Developed by German biotech firm BioNTech, the new vaccine, named BNT116, can prime the immune system to recognise and combat cancer cells.

Janusz Racz, a 67-year-old lung cancer patient from London, was the first participant to receive this new vaccine.

According to Siow Ming Lee, a UCLH consultant medical oncologist who is leading the national study, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with an estimated 1.8 million deaths reported in 2020

“We are now entering this very exciting new era of mRNA-based immunotherapy clinical trials to investigate the treatment of lung cancer,” he said.

Supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at UCLH, the study aims to evaluate the safety and tolerance of the immunotherapy, its efficacy in targeting tumours on its own, and its potential to enhance the effectiveness of established chemotherapy or immunotherapy treatments.

The vaccine trial will enroll around 130 participants at different stages of NSCLC across 34 research sites in seven countries, including six in the UK.

The other UK hospital sites participating in this clinical trial are:

• Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust
• Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
• The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Velindre University NHS Trust

Janusz Racz, a 67-year-old lung cancer patient from London, was the first to receive the new vaccine at UCLH (image credit: NIHR website)

How the cancer vaccine works

The vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) to present common tumour markers to the patient’s immune system, helping it recognise and fight cancer cells expressing these markers.

It is designed to specifically enhance immune responses against targets primarily expressed by cancer cells, reducing the risk of toxicity to healthy, non-cancerous cells.

In contrast, chemotherapy often affects both cancerous and healthy cells.

A similar trial for a melanoma immunotherapy is also underway at the NIHR UCLH CRF.

Both trials have benefitted from the UK Vaccine Innovation Pathway (VIP), a Clinical Trial Delivery Accelerator (CTDA) aimed at expediting the setup and delivery of vaccine trials and establishing the UK as a globally competitive destination for vaccine development.

Professor Karl Peggs, Director of Research at UCLH and the NIHR UCLH Biomedical Research Centre, highlighted that developing new approaches to treating cancer is a major priority for research at UCLH and within the BRC and he is excited to see this first-in-human research get started at UCLH.

Dr. Matt Hallsworth, NIHR’s Director of Strategic Partnerships, underscored that this pioneering study is part of the UK Government’s strategic partnership with BioNTech to position the UK at the forefront of developing potentially life-saving cancer therapies.