The United Kingdom has officially launched its first clinical trial of a personalized mRNA vaccine for lung cancer. Scientists say the trial would change how lung cancer is treated and may even help prevent the disease from returning in high-risk patients.
BioNTech, the same company known for its work on mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, has developed a new vaccine called BNT116. This vaccine works very differently from usual cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy. Instead of attacking both healthy and cancerous cells, it trains the body’s immune system to recognize and destroy only cancer cells.
The trial is being led by University College London Hospitals, with support from the NHS and national research organizations. This marks the first time researchers have tested this type of mRNA cancer immunotherapy for lung cancer in a clinical trial in the UK.
The first patient to receive the vaccine is 67-year-old Janusz Racz from London. He received the vaccine after completing standard lung cancer treatment. Speaking about his decision, he said, “As a scientist myself, I know that science can only advance if people agree to participate in programs like this. I work in artificial intelligence, and I am open to trying new things. My family did research about the trial too, and they supported me taking part.”
The early-stage trial will include 20 patients in the UK and is part of a wider international study running across seven countries, including the United States, Germany, Spain, and Turkey. Around 130 participants are expected to take part worldwide. The main goal of this phase is to test whether the vaccine is safe, well tolerated, and effective when used alone or alongside existing lung cancer treatments.
BNT116 works by using messenger RNA, or mRNA, to deliver instructions to the immune system. These instructions help the body identify common tumor markers found on non-small cell lung cancer cells. Once the immune system learns to recognize these markers, it can attack cancer cells more accurately. Doctors say this targeted approach reduces the risk of damaging healthy cells, a common problem with chemotherapy.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in the UK and worldwide. In the UK alone, it accounts for about 20 percent of all cancer deaths each year. The disease is often detected late, making it difficult to treat. Fewer than 10 percent of patients survive for 10 years or more after diagnosis. Researchers say these figures show new treatment options are urgently needed.
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Consultant medical oncologist Siow Ming Lee, who leads the national study, said, “Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with an estimated 1.8 million deaths in 2020. We are now entering a new era of mRNA-based immunotherapy clinical trials to investigate the treatment of lung cancer. We hope this will provide an opportunity to further improve outcomes for our non-small cell lung cancer patients, whether in the early or advanced stages.”
Alongside treatment vaccines like BNT116, UK scientists are also working on a prevention-focused vaccine called LungVax. Researchers from the University of Oxford and University College London are developing this vaccine. Unlike BNT116, which aims at treating patients who already have cancer, LungVax aims to stop lung cancer before it develops in people at high risk.
Professor Sarah Blagden, who is leading the LungVax project, said, “Lung cancer is lethal and blights far too many lives. Survival has been stubbornly poor for decades. LungVax is our chance to do something to actively prevent this disease.” The LungVax project has received more than £2 million in funding. Researchers expect to begin their phase-one clinical trial in 2026.
Professor Mariam Jamal-Hanjani will lead the LungVax clinical trial. She said, “Fewer than 10 percent of people with lung cancer survive their disease for 10 years or more. That must change, and that change will come from targeting lung cancer at the earliest stages.”
Government and NHS leaders have welcomed the launch of these trials. UK Science Minister Lord Vallance said, “It is good to see this vaccine taking its next important step. This approach has the potential to save the lives of thousands diagnosed with lung cancer every year.”
NHS England’s National Cancer Director Dame Cally Palmer added, “A cancer diagnosis is very worrying, but access to groundbreaking trials provides hope. These vaccines could be revolutionary in preventing cancer from returning after treatment.”
