Lung cancer patient is first in UK to receive experimental vaccine
A lung cancer patient has become the first in the UK to receive a new experimental vaccine to help his body fight the disease.
Janusz Racz, 67, had six syringes of the jab, each containing genetic material for a different part of the tumour, to train five billion cells in his immune system to go on the attack.
The vaccine, codenamed BNT116, is made by BioNTech using the same mRNA technology that underpinned its highly effective COVID jab.
Doctors say it is far more precisely targeted than chemotherapy so shouldn’t have the same collateral damage on healthy cells that causes sometimes overwhelming side effects.
“It’s painless,” Mr Racz said after his first jab.
“It’s much better than chemo, which was hard for me.”
Sky News was given exclusive access to University College London Hospital (UCLH) as doctors began the UK arm of a worldwide trial of the vaccine.
About 130 patients with non-small cell lung cancer will take part in the study, with six hospitals in the UK involved.
“If I was the hundredth or the first [study volunteer] it does not matter for me,” Mr Racz said.
“I believe it will help me – and help other people if the vaccine goes to production faster.
“COVID vaccines helped millions of people. This will also help millions of people.”
Mr Racz was highly active before he became ill, climbing several mountains and running marathons in seven countries. He is so positive about his future that he has set himself the goal of running the London marathon within the next three years.
How it works
Cancer has an invisibility cloak, hiding from the immune system. But the vaccine flags key components of the tumour as a threat, hopefully triggering the body to respond by obliterating cancer cells wherever they are.
Early trials on similar vaccines in other cancers have proved promising, with a reduction in tumour size and risk of recurrence.
This is the first time the BioNTech jab has been tested in humans. The trial will confirm whether there are any major side effects before doctors proceed to larger studies to establish clinical effectiveness.
Volunteers will receive dozens of doses over 12 months to keep boosting their immune system.
Dr Sarah Benafif, who is running the clinical trial at UCLH, has high hopes.
“We already have some data that this is quite a well-tolerated type of vaccine,” she said.
“We hope in time we are able to show that the treatment is effective against lung cancer whilst leaving other tissues untouched.”
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Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common form of the disease. Most, though not all, cases are caused by smoking.
Many patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage when treatment is less effective. Currently, only around a quarter survive for five years.
Unusually the clinical trial will include patients with early disease who have yet to undergo surgery or radiotherapy, as well as those who have cancer that has spread or returned.
It keeps options open on how best to use the vaccine to improve outcomes for people with cancer.
Vaccines ‘could be revolutionary’
Professor Siow Ming Lee, an oncologist at UCLH and clinical lead for the UK part of the study, said new treatments are desperately needed.
“You’ve got 1.8 million deaths worldwide from lung cancer, many in the developing countries,” he said.
“Hopefully we can start with our first generation of mRNA vaccine, and then roll it out to the rest of the world.”
The NHS has begun screening older smokers for lung cancer in the hope of picking up cases earlier. Anyone with symptoms, including a cough that won’t go away, chest pain and fatigue should see a doctor.
NHS England national cancer director Dame Cally Palmer said: “The NHS has a leading role globally in trialling cancer vaccines and if we are successful, they could be revolutionary in vaccinating people against their own cancers to prevent the cancer recurring after their initial treatment.
“Pioneering work is being undertaken by hospitals throughout the country with their university and industry partners to look at ways of harnessing the body’s own immune system to treat a range of cancers.
“A cancer diagnosis is very worrying, but access to groundbreaking trials – alongside other innovations to diagnose and treat cancers earlier – provides hope. We expect to see thousands more patients taking part in trials over the next few years.”
Model Penny Lancaster has said she “felt ashamed and belittled” by how former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace treated her on the TV show.
Lancaster, who is also a TV personality, and is married to singer Rod Stewart, told Sky News’ The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee programme that she also felt let down by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.
“I didn’t feel like I was supported in that moment, I felt ashamed and belittled by the way Greg Wallace had treated me but equally I felt disappointed that the production company hadn’t come to my rescue,” Lancaster, 54 and a MasterChef contestant in 2021, said.
“There is a long way to go, but just by people coming forward and being honest about their experiences I think will help in the long term.”
At the end of July, Wallace, 60, apologised after a report commissioned by Banijay UK, and carried out by law firm Lewis Silkin, found 45 out of 83 allegations against him were substantiated.
Sir Rod Stewart criticised Wallace on Instagram in November 2024 and claimed he “humiliated” his wife when she was on the show.
He wrote: “Good riddance Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you?
“You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully.”
Gregg Wallace. Pic: PA
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Sky News has approached Wallace for comment.
He has previously apologised to people he has hurt, saying in July that he knows he has said things that have offended people. He has denied a specific allegation of unwanted touching.
The BBC referred Sky News to their statement from July, in which the corporation said: “Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour – both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC. We accept more could and should have been done sooner.
“We want to thank all those who took part in the investigation, including those who first raised concerns directly with the BBC in November last year. We apologise to everyone who has been impacted by Mr Wallace’s behaviour.”
Penny Lancaster speaks to Sarah-Jane Mee
Banijay UK, the producers of MasterChef, told Sky News: “We are extremely sorry to anyone who has been impacted by any inappropriate behaviour by Gregg Wallace whilst working on our shows and felt unable to speak up at the time or that their complaint was not adequately addressed.
“Ways of reporting concerns whilst working on our productions, protocols around behaviour and training for both cast and crew, have improved exponentially in recent years and we constantly review welfare procedures across our productions to ensure that they are as robust as they can be.”
Sadiq Khan has hit back at politicians “spreading misinformation” about safety in London as new data shows the number of violent crimes leading to injury has fallen in every borough over the past year.
Figures from the mayor’s office for policing and crime compare the 12 months ending in August 2025 with the previous 12 months – and show there were 8,749 fewer crimes which resulted in someone being hurt, a drop of nearly 12%.
The borough of Havering in east London recorded the largest drop (16.3%) followed by Enfield in north London (16.1%).
The smallest decreases were in Greenwich (4.3%) and Kensington and Chelsea (4.6%).
Sir Sadiq said: “We’ve seen a number of politicians here and across the globe talking down London and spreading misinformation about crime and safety in the capital.
“The evidence is clear, our approach to tackling crime and its complex causes works. It’s driving down violence right across the capital.”
His comments come after Donald Trump reignited his feud with Sir Sadiq earlier this month by accusing him of doing a “terrible job” and claiming “crime in London is through the roof”.
The US president also hit out at the mayor in a speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, where he also made the outlandish claim that London “wants Sharia law” – something there is no evidence for.
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Trump attacks UN and London mayor
Asked about the attacks, Sir Sadiq said: “I think President Trump has shown he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic, and he is Islamophobic.”
He added that the public would be “wondering what it is about this Muslim mayor who leads a liberal, multicultural, progressive, successful city that means I appear to be living rent-free inside Donald Trump’s head”.
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According to the mayor’s office, overall homicides in London are at a 10-year low, and the city’s rate is lower than in Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, Paris and all major US cities.
The rate of homicide was down by 17% in the 12-month period to June this year compared with the 12-month period to May 2016, it previously said.
Sir Sadiq speaks with a police officer during a walkabout in the West End earlier this year. File pic: PA
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams said: “We’re targeting the most dangerous individuals, disrupting criminal networks, and investing in prevention to protect those most at risk.
“That’s why fewer people are being hurt, fewer lives are being lost, and London is becoming a safer city.”
The Conservatives rejected the suggestion that London is safer.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp claims ‘London isn’t safer’
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Under this Labour mayor, criminals know the odds are stacked in their favour.
“Only one in 20 robberies is solved, fewer offenders are being jailed, and more than a thousand police officers have been cut from the Metropolitan Police, with Sir Mark Rowley warning of further losses this year.
“Londoners don’t feel safer because London isn’t safer.”
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