67-year-old British man receives first lung cancer vaccine

Janusz Racz, a 67-year-old British man, became the first patient to receive the experimental lung cancer vaccine, called BNT116, and says he is open to “trying new things.”

Immunizer BNT116

In the UK, a UCLH lung cancer patient has become the first to receive a new vaccine developed by BioNTech, a German biotechnology company. The vaccine aims to train the immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells. This is the first time that BioNTech’s immunotherapy has been put into clinical trials for lung cancer in the UK, with the NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility acting as the lead research centre.

The vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, similar to that used in certain COVID-19 vaccines, to provide guidance to the immune system.

“We hope this provides an opportunity to further improve outcomes for our patients with NSCLC, whether at early or advanced stages.” said Siow Ming Lee, professor of Medical Oncology at University College London and UK trial leader, reveals that around 130 patients will be recruited across 34 research sites across seven countries, including six in the UK. The BNT116 vaccine will enter clinical trials to assess its safety and tolerability. The study will cover patients with non-small cell lung cancer, from stages 2 and 3 who are preparing for surgery or radiotherapy, to those with advanced disease or recurrent cancer in stage 4.

_{Janusz Racz receiving the vaccine at UCLH (Photo: reproduction/Aaron Chown/PA/Instagram/@uclh)}

The patient

“I thought about it and… I decided to participate because I hope it will provide a defense against cancer cells. But I also thought that my participation in this research could help others in the future and help this therapy become more widely available.”said Janusz in an interview for University College London Hospitals. Janusz, who attributed his breathing difficulties to asthma, was accidentally diagnosed with cancer during a colonoscopy in May. The tumor was advanced, and doctors predicted he would not make it past October. Despite successful chemotherapy and radiation treatments, his chances of long-term survival were only 35 percent.

Featured photo: Janusz Racz (reproduction/Aaron Chown/PA/Instagram/@uclh)