BRITISH scientists are developing the world’s first vaccine for lung cancer.
It will work by training the immune system to seek and destroy “red flag” proteins that appear on lung cells that have potentially cancerous mutations inside.
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Experts from Oxford University, University College London and the Francis Crick Institute will conduct a two-year, £1.7million study of the jab with cash from Cancer Research UK.
Lung cancer is the deadliest common cancer in Britain, with around 50,000 cases and 35,000 deaths every year.
Seven in 10 cases are linked to smoking.
Trial leader Professor Mariam Jamal-Hanjani, from UCL, said: “Fewer than 10 per cent of people with lung cancer survive their disease for 10 years or more – that must change.
“We think the vaccine could cover around 90 per cent of all lung cancers.
“It will not replace stopping smoking as the best way to reduce your risk of lung cancer but it could offer a route to preventing some of the earliest stage cancers.”
We’re in a golden age of cancer research
Michelle Mitchell
The jab, named LungVax, will use the same technology as the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid jab.
It will use a harmless chimp virus to carry a piece of DNA from the dangerous pre-cancer proteins, called neoantigens.
White blood cells will then learn to recognise these proteins and kill them on sight, preventing the deadly cells from multiplying to build a tumour.
The researchers will first test the tech in the lab, then begin human trials starting with middle-aged smokers at high risk of lung cancer.
Science training our bodies to fight cancer naturally
Those are the people who would likely be given the jab if it is rolled out to the public.
Professor Tim Elliott, from Oxford Uni, said: “Cancer is a disease of our own bodies and it’s hard for the immune system to distinguish between what’s normal and what’s cancer.
“Getting it to recognise and attack cancer is one of the biggest challenges in cancer research today.
“If we can replicate the kind of success seen in trials during the pandemic, we could save the lives of tens of thousands of people every year in the UK alone.”
Michelle Mitchell, CEO of Cancer Research UK, added: “We’re in a golden age of research and this is one of many projects which we hope will transform lung cancer survival.”
WHAT IS LUNG CANCER?
LUNG cancer is the most deadly common cancer in the UK.
It is considered a common cancer alongside prostate, breast and bowel, which together make up more than half of all new cases.
Around 49,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year and 35,000 die from it.
Just one in 10 patients survive for a decade or more after being diagnosed and lung tumours make up 21 per cent of cancer deaths in the UK but only 13 per cent of cases.
The main reason that it is so deadly is that symptoms are not obvious in the early stages.
When signs do appear they may include:
- A cough that lasts three weeks or more, and may hurt
- Repeated chest infections
- Coughing up blood
- Breathlessness
- Unusual tiredness
The NHS does not routinely screen for lung cancer but is rolling out more tests to smokers and ex-smokers at high risk, in a bid to catch it earlier. Testing may involve X-rays and chest CT scans.
Smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer and accounts for about 70 per cent of cases.
Risk may also be higher for people who have inhaled other fumes or toxic substances at work, such as asbestos, coal smoke or silica.