Prof. Natalia Marek-Trzonkowska, director of the International Centre for Cancer Vaccine Science (ICCVS), was invited by the European Commission to join a group of 20 experts who debated in Brussels on 4 February the legitimacy of introducing vaccinations to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCD).
Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe, and this burden continues to grow due to the ageing population. Screening, early detection and treatment are key elements when responding to NCDs. Efforts are also ongoing to reduce major risk factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption and to promote healthy lifestyles.
New methods are also being sought in the fight against NCDs, with vaccine research offering great hope. The success of vaccination in the primary prevention of infectious diseases, technological advances in vaccine production and a deep understanding of the immune response after immunisation make it possible to consider a similar approach for NCDs. We now have results that indicate that certain therapeutic approaches for specific cancers and autoimmune diseases significantly delay the progression of these diseases and, in some cases, even lead to a cure. An increasingly better understanding of the immune mechanisms in the pathogenesis of NCDs confirms that by appropriately modulating their action, we can prevent or significantly delay the onset of non-communicable diseases.
At the meeting in Brussels, prof. Natalia Marek-Trzonkowska gave a lecture entitled ‘Regulatory T-cells as a therapeutic tool in type 1 diabetes - lessons learned from long-term observations’, during which she presented the results of 12 years of observations of children with type 1 diabetes who underwent regulatory T-cell (Treg) therapy. The study showed that earlier therapeutic intervention is associated with a better clinical response. These findings and the high safety profile of the therapy led to the initiation of a clinical trial involving patients who do not yet have symptoms of the disease. Furthermore, discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicate that it is reasonable to introduce type 1 diabetes therapy using Treg cells during the period when autoantibodies appear, but before the onset of clinical symptoms of the disease.
The main purpose of the expert meeting was to exchange experiences in the use of vaccination/therapy for non-communicable diseases in the preclinical period. The identification of those NCDs for which such an approach is biologically justified (taking into account all uncertainties and research priorities) was also discussed. The conclusions drawn will help to identify research gaps, methodological challenges and priority areas for future work on the development of vaccines against NCDs.