A scientist whose lung cancer was detected by doctors “by coincidence” has become the first person in the UK to receive a new vaccine for the disease.
Janusz Racz, 67, is taking part in a trial of the jab which is designed to help the immune system recognise and fight lung cancer.
He expressed his hopes of getting back to running once his treatment is over, with ambitions to complete the London Marathon.
The vaccine, known as BNT116 and made by BioNTech, works by priming the patient’s immune system to recognise and fight tumour markers created by non-small cell lung cancer. The process leaves healthy cells untouched, unlike chemotherapy.
BNT116 is based on mRNA, the same technology used in the Covid-19 vaccine.
Mr Racz, who is originally from Poland but has lived in London for 10 years, received six injections five minutes apart over a half-hour period at the National Institute for Health Research UCLH Clinical Research Facility on Tuesday.
Each jab contained different RNA strands. He will get the vaccine every week for six consecutive weeks, and then every three weeks for a total of 54 weeks.
Mr Racz, who specialises in artificial intelligence (AI), told the PA news agency his profession is the main reason he wanted to take part in the study.
“The main reason is that I am a scientist too, and I understand that the progress of science – especially in medicine – lies in people agreeing to be involved in such investigations,” he said.
“It would be very beneficial for me, because it’s a new methodology not available for other patients that can help me to get rid of the cancer.
“And also, I can be a part of the team that can provide proof of concept for this new methodology, and the faster it would be implemented across the world, more people will be saved.
“I am not really worried about being the first participant in this trial. I would feel the same if I was the 100th participant. For me it is just about taking part.”
Mr Racz, who has three children and six grandchildren, was diagnosed with lung cancer in May in what he describes as a “coincidence”.
He had been prescribed an inhaler last year after experiencing some breathlessness.
“The official [cancer] diagnosis was May 1 2024. But it was detected by coincidence,” Mr Racz said.
“I was scheduled for a colonoscopy, and my blood pressure was too high, so the doctor decided to send me for a so-called CT colonoscopy, which is different.
“It’s maybe less invasive because it’s just a CT device. It was the middle of February that they detected something my lung, my right lung.”
After being sent for urgent tests, doctors confirmed Mr Racz had lung cancer and he underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Without treatment, he was told he would have four to five months to live, while chemotherapy and radiotherapy would give him a 35% change of surviving five years.
“The chemotherapy was particularly challenging, I really wouldn’t want to have that again,” Mr Racz said. “The first good news came when doctors told me that my tumour was shrinking faster than expected.”
Mr Racz was scheduled to have scans in September to check if his cancer was growing or spreading when he had a phone call with Dr Sarah Benafif from UCLH about the trial.
He said: “She explained how the vaccine should work and how it was different to the treatment I had recently completed.
“The hope was that it would stop the cancer coming back.
“I thought it over, and talked to my GP, friends and colleagues who are medical doctors, and they all said that I should go for it.
“I decided to take part because I hope it will provide a defence against cancer cells.
“But I also thought that my participation in this research could help other people in future and help this therapy become more widely available.”
Mr Racz enjoys running but has not been able to do so recently.
He has completed seven marathons across the US and Europe – the first in New York in 2002. He now has his eye on the London race.
He told PA: “I think that after the treatment, I will get back, I will be stronger. My dream is just to run maybe more marathons.
“I’ve run seven marathons. There are people who run much more, but for me, it’s enough.
“I have never had the opportunity to run a London Marathon because it’s a lottery, and maybe it would be a possibility to run the marathon as a member of this programme.”