Russian-Made Cancer Vaccine Shows Positive Results in First Patient

Photo: Collected

News Desk: Russian doctors have reported highly encouraging preliminary results following the administration of the country's first personalized vaccine for melanoma, a type of skin cancer.

Alexander Ginzburg, Scientific Director of the Gamaleya National Research Institute, said that the first patient to receive the vaccine, named "NeoOncoVac," is in good health and has developed the necessary immune response to fight the disease.

Last year, Russia's Ministry of Health approved two personalized cancer treatment methods developed in the country: the mRNA-based NeoOncoVac vaccine for advanced melanoma and the peptide-based drug "Oncopepti" for colorectal cancer.

In April, the first dose of NeoOncoVac was administered to a 60-year-old patient suffering from stage III melanoma with metastasis at the Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute.

In an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday (30 July), Ginzburg said the patient is currently feeling completely normal and continues to undergo treatment. Test results have shown a highly positive immune response, with the patient's body producing the active compounds needed to fight the tumor and metastases. The patient will receive two more doses, and doctors will closely monitor the immune response throughout the treatment process.

He also revealed that personalized melanoma vaccines are currently being prepared for ten more patients and are expected to be ready for administration within the next one and a half to three months.

Andrey Kaprin, head of the National Medical Research Center of Radiology, previously described the technology as a fundamentally different approach to cancer treatment. Rather than simply treating the disease, the method trains the body's own immune system to identify and destroy harmful cancer cells.

Under this technology, samples of a patient's tumor and healthy tissue are collected and genetically analyzed to create a customized vaccine capable of targeting and attacking the cancer cells.

Russian health officials also said that patients receiving "Oncopepti" for colorectal cancer have likewise developed the necessary immune response. Meanwhile, the Gamaleya Institute is continuing research on treatments for pancreatic, kidney, and non-small cell lung cancers.

Source: RT.