The Voice
Are There Lung Cancer Vaccines?
Oncologists in Cuba and the UK developed and are in the early phases of testing two vaccines that will boost the immune systems of people who have lung cancer, or who may be at risk of developing it, in an effort to slow or prevent the disease.
Professor Tim Elliot, the University of Oxford’s Kidani Professor of Immuno-oncology, and the research lead for one of the two vaccines, told Interesting Engineering that often “it’s hard for the immune system to distinguish between what’s normal and what’s cancer.”1
Although they work at different times and in different ways, both vaccines in Cuba and the UK are biological response modifiers, because they allow the body to recognize and begin to respond against cancer cells.2 Let’s look a little more into two applications of biological response modifiers through vaccines.
CIMAvax-EGF, a Cuban-developed vaccine: Slowing down late-stage cancer and prevention of recurrence.
In the 1990s, lung cancer oncologists did a lot of research on a molecule called epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR. This molecule is found on both normal and cancerous cells, but medical research teams studied it because they believed it might drive lung cancer growth. It turns out that it does, but only in about 15 percent of lung cancer patients and usually in cases of non-small-cell lung cancer where the patients have never smoked.2
In 2011, researchers at the Center for Molecular Immunology in Havanah, Cuba, developed a vaccine called CIMAvax-EGF for patients with advanced-stage lung cancer. CIMAvax is not a traditional preventative vaccine. It stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies against EGF, a protein that circulates in the blood that lung cancer cells need to multiply. It slows down the activation of EFGR so that it doesn’t cause more cancerous cells to grow. Although none of the late-stage patients went into remission, the vaccine showed some evidence of slowing the progression of the disease and allowing patients to live for an extra 2-3 months.2 Although it is fairly specific to one type of cancer and isn’t a miracle cure, CIMAvax was notable for having relatively mild side effects, and also for being easy to administer outside of a specialized oncology unit, which reduces the demand on oncologists.3
Because the drug was developed outside of the US, the FDA would not recognize trials of the drug performed in Cuba, and in 2017 CIMAvax began US trials at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY.2 As of early 2026, the results of these trials are unclear, but Roswell Park does state on their website that they are “the only facility in the country that offers this groundbreaking treatment.”4
LungVax: A vaccine developed to prevent lung cancer in high risk individuals or early stage patients to prevent recurrence, University of Oxford, England
The second lung-cancer-related vaccine also uses the immune system, but through a different mechanism and is more preventive or prophylactic rather than something used to treat lung cancer when it has already developed. The technology that enabled this vaccine was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic.5
When cells mutate and become cancerous, they produce proteins called neoantigens, which are often seen in non-small-cell-lung cancer and in small-cell lung cancer. In lung cancer in particular, these proteins show up very early in the cancer formation process.5 Researchers at the University College London and the Francis Crick Institute at the University of Oxford developed a vaccine called LungVax, which has DNA that teaches the immune system to recognize and destroy cells with neoantigens. This treatment targets lung cancer before it has a chance to develop.
Clinical trials of LungVax will begin in summer 2026, will last for about 4 years, and will test two different populations: patients who have had lung cancer removed but who may be in danger of it coming back, and people who are enrolled in the Lung Cancer Screening Programmme.5
Let’s keep our fingers crossed for positive news out of both of these trials in the future!
Sources
1. LungVax: A lung cancer vaccine in the works that could save lives | Interesting Engineering
2. What to Know About the CIMAvax Lung Cancer Vaccine | US News, Health
3. Safety and effectiveness of CIMAvax-EGF administered in community polyclinics | Frontiers in Oncology
4. CIMAvax Lung Cancer Vaccine | Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
5. World’s first trial of lung cancer vaccine launched | University College London