Researchers are working to develop the world’s first vaccine against lung cancer, building on the ground-breaking work that was behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Researchers from Oxford University, the Francis Crick Institute and University College London have received £1.7m of funding from the charity Cancer Research UK and the CRIS Cancer Foundation to develop a lung cancer vaccine.
The team are seeking to create ‘LungVax’ by using ‘neoantigens’, or proteins from the surface of cancer cells, to help activate the body’s natural immune system, recognise these are abnormal lung cells, and then kill them.
The team will first use lab tests to see if they can successfully trigger an immune response through the vaccine. If the results are positive, the vaccine will move straight into a clinical trial.
“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,” said Professor Tim Elliott, from the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University and research lead for the LungVax project.
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“Getting the immune system 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,” he added.
Over the next two years, the team will receive funding to support lab research and initial manufacturing of 3,000 doses of the vaccine at the Oxford Clinical BioManufacturing Facility.
If deemed effective, the vaccine could then be scaled up to bigger trials for people at high risk of lung cancer, which could include people aged 55-74 who are current smokers, or have previously smoked. This is the same group that currently qualifies for targeted lung health checks in some parts of the UK.
“Fewer than 10% of people with lung cancer survive their disease for 10 years or more. That must change,” said Professor Mariam Jamal-Hanjani of University College London and the Francis Crick Institute, who will be leading the LungVax clinical trial.
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“LungVax will not replace stopping smoking as the best way to reduce your risk of lung cancer. But it could offer a viable route to preventing some of the earliest stage cancers from emerging in the first place,” she added.
It is thought the vaccine could cover around 90% of all lung cancers.
