- Free personalized cancer vaccine by 2025
- Although the vaccines have shown initial results, there is skepticism about them
- The world is powered by AI, organ transplants are being performed all the time, but there is still no cure for cancer?
Free personalized cancer vaccine by 2025
Humanity's dream of protecting itself from cancer could come true as soon as next year, as Russia has unveiled a new personalized vaccine that it says protects against cancer and is preparing to distribute it to patients free of charge. Meanwhile, the medical profession is slow to welcome the news and wonders whether it will be more than just a slogan.
The Russian Ministry of Health has revealed its plans to distribute a personalized cancer vaccine free of charge to patients from the beginning of 2025. This innovative treatment, announced by Andrei Kaprin, Director General of the Radiological Medical Research Centre, is tailored to each patient and aims to inhibit tumor growth and prevent the spread of cancer[1].
Details of the vaccine's effectiveness, the targeted cancer types and its name are not disclosed. Alexander Gintsburg of the Gamalei Research Centre highlighted its potential, in line with global efforts to use personalised medicine to treat cancer.
Similar approaches are already being developed worldwide, with the UK collaborating with a German biotechnology company and Moderna and Merck developing a vaccine for skin cancer. In the US, researchers are testing mRNA-based therapies that activate the immune system to target cancer cells. Early trials show promising results, extending patients' life expectancy with the new treatment.
Meanwhile, the Russian announcement of the new vaccines gives many people hope that cancer treatments around the world will become more effective.
Although the vaccines have shown initial results, there is skepticism about them
Alexander Gintsburg, head of Russia's Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology, announced that the first tests of a newly developed cancer vaccine have shown that it is able to slow down the growth of a tumor and prevent it from spreading. He revealed that the vaccine is expected to be available free of charge to Russian citizens from early 2025[2].
The vaccine is reportedly designed to be tailored to individual patients, with artificial intelligence playing a key role in speeding up its development.
A. Gintsburg explained that current methods of developing individual mRNA vaccines are time-consuming, but AI could reduce this process to less than an hour. To achieve this, the Ivannikov Institute is training neural networks using sequence data from tens of thousands of tumors. These calculations will help determine whether certain combinations of vaccines can be effective on a patient's cancer.
Despite the announcement, the Russian authorities have not provided detailed test data or specific data on the vaccine's effectiveness, raising questions about its reliability. For his part, Mr Gintsburg stressed that the mRNA technology used in the vaccine is similar to that used in the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna. This method delivers mRNA into the body, which induces cells to produce proteins that the immune system learns to attack.
Worldwide, cancer vaccine research has taken decades with little progress. Although using mRNA to treat cancer is scientifically sound, no breakthrough has been achieved. Indian oncologists such as Dr Gaurav Dixit and Dr Pragya Shukla have urged caution, stressing that more evidence is needed before they can get excited. Dr Shukla pointed out that developing a vaccine for all types of cancer is an extraordinary claim given the diversity of the disease[3].
Similarly, experts such as Professor Kingston Mills of Trinity College Dublin echoed the skepticism, pointing to the lack of published scientific evidence to support the Russian report. Mills acknowledged the potential of the cancer vaccine, but stressed the need for transparent data and clinical trial results to support the claims.
While the promise of a cancer vaccine is a significant development, experts agree that more information is needed to assess its real viability.
The world is powered by AI, organ transplants are being performed all the time, but there is still no cure for cancer?
In fact, this aspect has been quite widely debated for some time now, because people have legitimate doubts as to why, with a healthcare system and technology that has advanced so much, there is still no antidote to cancer. So, if vaccines are so effective against every conceivable disease, why is there still no cure for cancer?
Back in 2018, a report explained that, unlike infections caused by external pathogens, cancer arises from mutated cells in the body, making it harder for vaccines to fight it.
Existing vaccines, such as HPV and hepatitis B, protect against viruses that can cause cancer, such as cervical or liver cancer. However, these vaccines target viruses, not cancer cells. Therapeutic cancer vaccines, such as the FDA-approved sipuleucel-T for prostate cancer, use the patient's own immune cells for individual treatment. However, their high cost and limited patient survival benefits are reportedly a challenge[4].
Immunotherapy aims to boost the immune system's response to cancer, often combined with chemotherapy treatments. However, it is explained that the immune reactions induced by these vaccines are usually short-lived and insufficient in advanced cancer. Researchers are investigating targets such as NY-ESO1 and MUC1 proteins, which are expressed in several types of cancer, but a universal cancer vaccine has not yet been developed.
Cancer vaccines face challenges, including identifying specific antigens and ensuring immune cells effectively attack tumors. Despite the setbacks, experts believe that vaccines could prevent cancer recurrence and reduce the cost of treatment. Dr Patrick Hwu of the Moffitt Cancer Centre encouraged people not to give up on finding solutions to develop such vaccines.
