First Patient Receives Novel Lung Cancer Vaccine

A lung cancer patient has received novel immunotherapy designed to recognize and fight cancer cells, marking the beginning of a human trial.

The investigational mRNA cancer immunotherapy made by BioNTech, the German biotechnology company, will be studied in a clinical trial for lung cancer in seven countries involving about 130 participants.

The therapy targets non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) – known as BNT116 – and utilizes a messenger RNA (mRNA) to present common tumor markers from NSCLC to the patient’s immune system. It is aimed at helping the immune system recognize and fight cancer cells expressing these markers.

The vaccine is designed to enhance immune responses against targets primarily expressed by cancer cells. This allows for reducing toxicity to healthy, non-cancerous cells — unlike chemotherapy, which often also affects both cancer and healthy cells.

The trial to determine whether BNT116 is safe and well tolerated will be enrolling patients at different stages of NSCLC, from early-stage NSCLC before surgery or radiotherapy to late-stage disease or recurrent cancer.

Researchers will investigate the safety profile and safe dose of BNT116 monotherapy in combination with existing treatments for NSCLC.

Janusz Racz, 67, the first patient who received the vaccine, shared his hope that immunotherapy would stop the cancer coming back.

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

Racz

Vaccines based on mRNA technology have been tested in humans since 2013, with the first mRNA vaccine entering the market during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ongoing multiple clinical trials are testing the technology for the prevention of infectious diseases, like HIV and influenza, and cancers like pancreatic and melanoma, among others.

Lung cancer is among the most common cancers in the United States, with 234,580 new cases estimated for 2024. The average age at which people are diagnosed with the condition is about 70, but it may occur in people younger than 45.

Cigarette smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer, accounting for about 80 to 90% of cancer deaths. However, over 20,000 lung cancer cases yearly are caused by long-term exposure to radon, naturally occurring that can get into homes or buildings through cracks or holes.

The new mRNA cancer immunotherapy may make the treatment of lung cancer safer and more effective. However, as the clinical trials are still in the early stages, the vaccine is not widely available.