European patients begin receiving world’s first lung cancer vaccine: ‘Revolutionary trial’

This article was originally published in English

A patient from the UK is one of the first Europeans to take part in the Groundbreaking global lung cancer vaccine trialLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, accounting for approximately 1.8 million deaths in 2020.

Of these, almost a quarter of a million people – around 230,700 – are from the EU alone, accounting for almost one in five cancer deaths in the region.

The vaccine is called BNT116. Developed by BioNTech, it uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology similar to some COVID-19 vaccines to help the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells.

This vaccine, a pioneer in the world, is intended for Fighting Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)what is it 85% of all lung cancer casesIt works by providing the patient’s immune system with information about common tumor markers associated with NSCLC.

This specific targeting is aimed at destroying cancer cells. minimizing damage to healthy cellsunlike the effects of chemotherapy.

“The strength of the approach we take is that the treatment highly targeted against cancer cells“So we hope that over time we will be able to demonstrate that the treatment is effective against lung cancer without affecting other tissues,” said Dr. Sarah Benafif, who led the study.

In this The groundbreaking study will involve about 130 patients with NSCLC at different stages, from early stages before surgery or radiotherapy to late stages of the disease, in 34 study centres in seven countries.

In addition to the UK, trials are being carried out in four other European countries.Germany, Spain, Poland And Hungary– the same as in USA And Türkiye.

“We hope this will give us the opportunity to continue to improve outcomes for our patients with NSCLC, whether they are in the early or late stages,” said Professor Siou Ming Lee, who led the UK study.

The ‘Revolutionary’ Vaccine of Hope

Janusz Racz, a 67-year-old scientist from London, was the first British participant to receive the new experimental vaccine. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in May and soon after began chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

A recent statement showed I hope the vaccine will help protect against cancer cellsadding: “I also thought that my participation in this study could help other people in the future and help make this therapy more widely available.”

Raz, who specializes in artificial intelligence (AI), said his scientific background motivated him to take part in the study. “As a scientist, I I know that science can only progress if people agree to participate in such programs.. I work in artificial intelligence and am open to new things. “My family also looked into the research and supported my participation,” she said.

Dame Callie Palmer, national director of cancer for NHS England, said she was testing cancer vaccines. could prove ‘revolutionary’ in preventing disease recurrence by vaccinating people against their own cancer.

“A cancer diagnosis is very worrying, but access to groundbreaking research – along with other innovations in early cancer detection and treatment – ​​brings hope,” Palmer said.

“We hope that thousands more patients will participate in the studies in the coming years.”