The MAGE clinical trial has commenced. Its purpose is to assess the effectiveness and safety of VTP-600 - a new immunotherapeutic agent designed for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study is overseen by Cancer Research UK.
Lung cancer vaccine? A clinical trial begins
Published Jan. 20, 2022 10:38
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About 86 people recently diagnosed with NSCLC, the most common type of lung cancer, will be enrolled in the MAGE study. The new therapy consists of three vaccines (one basal dose and two booster doses). Basal rate includes chimpanzee adenovirus.
- NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer, but is still very difficult to treat. If MAGE is successful, cutting-edge immunotherapy could help more people survive lung cancer, comments Dr. Nigel Blackburn, director of Cancer Research UK Center for Drug Development.
- There is an urgent need to find better treatments for patients with NSCLC. The VTP-600 immunotherapeutic vaccine is a state-of-the-art technology that targets the patient's immune system to fight cancer cells. The MAGE study will cover ten specialist hospitals in the UK, ensuring that as many patients as possible take part in it, says Prof. Fiona Blackhall.
Lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The clinical classification of lung cancer is divided into two types:
- Small cell carcinoma (SCLC) - unsuitable for surgical treatment, slightly better amenable to chemical treatment and/or radiation (approximately 17–25%). It is also characterized by rapid growth and early metastasis.
- Non-small cell carcinoma (NSCLC) - resistant to chemotherapy, but suitable for surgery (about 75% - 80%) and radiotherapy. In turn, the NSCLC subtypes include:
- squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (approximately 31-40%),
- adenocarcinoma (AC) (approx. 25-29%), including bronchial alveolar carcinoma,
- large cell carcinoma (LCC) (approximately 10%).
Smoking is one of the biggest risk factors for developing lung cancer, although exposure to air pollution and naturally occurring radon . Radon radiation constitutes 40-50% of the radiation dose received by a Polish inhabitant from natural sources. Radon can pose a threat to human health as it accumulates in residential buildings, especially in basements, and gets there from the ground as a result of pressure differences.
Sources: PharmaTimes/WD. Travis, LB. Travis, SS. Deves. Lung cancer. "Cancer". 75 (1 Suppl), pp. 191-202, Jan 1995.
