“Patients who have undergone radical surgery (those who have a chance of permanent cure of the cancer – PAP) are qualified for the clinical trial of the mRNA vaccine for non-small cell lung cancer” – noted in an interview with PAP the head of the Conservative Department of the Lung and Chest Cancer Clinic of the National Institute of Oncology – Maria Skłodowska-Curie State Research Institute in Warsaw, Secretary General of the Polish Lung Cancer Group, Prof. Dariusz M. Kowalski.
Poland is working on a lung cancer vaccine.
Then, if the examination of the sample taken from the tumor confirms a specific clinical stage of the disease, the patient receives, as before, adjuvant chemotherapy – explained the oncologist. – At that time, the tumor tissue is sent to the USA, where several dozen genes responsible for the development of lung cancer in a given patient are identified in the laboratory – added Prof. Kowalski.
On this basis, an mRNA vaccine is being developed – individually for each patient – which is to train the patient's immune system to recognize lung cancer cells and destroy them. The idea is to prevent future recurrence of the cancer.
“The patient receives a vaccine as part of complementary therapy and additionally an immunocompetent drug (i.e. immunotherapy). This is indeed a 'tailor-made', personalized treatment,” emphasized Prof. Kowalski. In the case of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, the preparations taking into account a specific variant of the coronavirus were the same for everyone, he noted.
In Poland, a study of the effectiveness of the mRNA vaccine in lung cancer patients is being conducted at the NIO-PIB Lung and Chest Cancer Clinic in Warsaw. The same study for melanoma patients is being conducted by the NIO-PIB Soft Tissue, Bone and Melanoma Cancer Clinic.
Patient recruitment is ongoing
“Recruitment for the study of lung cancer patients who can undergo surgical treatment and meet the qualification criteria is still ongoing. This is a very promising method and although it is too early to provide specifics, the initial results are very encouraging,” the specialist said.
He added that a clinical trial is also planned for patients with metastatic cancer in the future.
Poland is one of seven countries – in addition to the UK, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Turkey and the USA – where a study of the effectiveness of the mRNA vaccine in patients with lung cancer is being conducted.
Last Tuesday, as reported by The Guardian, the first patient in Great Britain received the vaccine. He is a 67-year-old Pole, Janusz Racz. (jjj/ amac/)