Man receiving an injection
Scientists hope to create a vaccine against cancer (Picture: Getty)

Scientists are aiming to create a vaccine against lung cancer.

In a world-first, researchers from the University of Oxford, the Francis Crick Institute and University College London (UCL) have used technology similar to the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to create ‘LungVax’ for those at high risk of getting lung cancer.

LungVax is a vaccine which activates the immune system to kill cancer cells and stop lung cancer using a strand of DNA.

The vaccine then trains the immune system to recognise ‘red flag’ proteins in lung cancer cells – known as neoantigens – and kill them.

Those neoantigens appear on the surface of the cell due to the cancer-causing mutations within the cell’s DNA.

From Cancer Research UK and the CRIS Cancer Foundation, the team has been granted up to £1.7m to develop 3,000 doses of the vaccine.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘The science that successfully steered the world out of the pandemic could soon be guiding us toward a future where people can live longer, better lives free from the fear of cancer.

Staff looking at lung cancer scans
A member of staff looks at the results of a lung scan (Credits: PA)

‘Projects like LungVax are a really important step forward into an exciting future, where cancer is much more preventable.

‘We’re in a golden age of research and this is one of many projects which we hope will transform lung cancer survival.’

Data from Cancer Research UK shows there are around 48,500 cases of lung cancer every year in the UK.

Around 72% of them are caused by smoking.

The vaccine will move into clinical trials after it can show in a lab setting that it can trigger an immune response, and from there it could lead to bigger trials for people at high risk of the disease.

Those who are at high risk are those 55-74 who currently smoke, have previously smoked and those who qualify for targeted lung health checks in parts of the UK.

Lung cancer: the lowdown

  • Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, accounting for the highest mortality rates among both men and women.
  • Symptoms of lung cancer include a cough that does not go away, chest pain and shortness of breath.
  • Smoking tobacco (including cigarettes, cigars, and pipes) is the primary risk factor for lung cancer but it can also affect non-smokers. 
  • Other risk factors include exposure to secondhand smoke, occupational hazards (such as asbestos, radon and certain chemicals), air pollution, hereditary cancer syndromes, and previous chronic lung diseases.

Source: World Health Organisation

Professor of Experimental Oncology at the University of Oxford and founder of the LungVax project, Professor Sarah Blagden, said: ‘When given to people with cancer at its earliest stages, anti-cancer treatments are more likely to be successful.

‘We are developing a vaccine to stop the formation of lung cancer in people at high risk. This is an important step forward in preventing this devastating disease.’

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