LUNG CANCER VACCINE | Spain to be first country to test lung cancer vaccine

There is hope for him lung cancer thanks to the study. Spain will experience a significant moment in the calendar: it will be the first country to test vaccines against this pathology. The first phase 1 clinical trial (in humans) has just been launched to test BNT116 vaccine against the most common and deadly lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)Our country is one of seven that have launched the project (along with Great Britain, the United States, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Turkey), which will be developed in 34 research centers with 130 patients who will receive the vaccine together with immunotherapy.

The Spanish centres that will participate will be the Virgen de la Macarena Hospital (Seville), the Jiménez Díaz Foundation (Madrid), the University and Polytechnic Hospital La Fe (Valencia), the Vall d’Hebron Hospital and the Geman Trias i Pujol in Barcelona, ​​in addition to the University Hospital Complex of Santiago de Compostela. The first patient to receive it was Janusz Racz.The 67-year-old London-based scientist was diagnosed with the disease in May and began chemotherapy and radiotherapy shortly after. Last Tuesday, Racz received six consecutive doses, spaced five minutes apart and over 30 minutes apart, at the National Institute for Health Research’s (UCLH) Clinical Trials Centre.

How will it be?

The vaccine, developed by BioNTech, uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology and targets the immune system. NSCLC tumor markers prepare the body to destroy cancer cells that express these markers. The goal of the treatment is to boost a person’s immune response to cancer while leaving healthy cells untouched, unlike chemotherapy.

“We are now entering this new and exciting era immunotherapy clinical trials mRNA-based research for lung cancer treatment,” he said. Guardian Professor Siou Ming Lee, Consultant Medical Oncologist, National Health Foundation (NHS Foundation Trust) hospitals of the city. University College London (UCLH), which is leading the trial in the UK. “It’s easy to manipulate and you can target specific antigens on a cancer cell and then attack them. This technology is the next big thing in cancer treatment,” he said.

If the results of the phase 1 trial are positive, the scientists hope to move on to phases 2 and 3, and once completed, the vaccine will become the standard of care for this type of tumor worldwide “and save many people with lung cancer,” Li said hopefully.

Numbers in Spain

It is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with about 1.8 million deaths per year. In Spain, the death rate has increased by 16% over the past five years, with nearly 23,000 people dying from the tumour each year. The figure, doctors say, will go in a crescendoThey estimate that this will affect more than 32,000 people in 2025.

The strip between Those aged 60 and 70 make up the highest percentage of victims, 36.1%.. People aged 50 to 60 years already account for 30%, in addition, about 13.3% of diagnoses already fall on people aged 40 to 50 years. 40.5% of victims are regular smokers, and another 46.5% are former smokers.

It is also emphasized that 30% of patients in the late stages and almost 60% in the early stages, there were no symptoms at the time of diagnosiswhich highlights the difficulties of diagnosing this tumor. Specialists need more research and investment in this pathology, as well as increased knowledge to improve approach strategies.