The Russian Gamaleya Center is currently conducting pre-clinical trials on a revolutionary cancer vaccine. Will this vaccine treat one of the most famous diseases of our time?
In a recent press interview with him, the Russian academic and head of the center, Alexander Gintsburg, answered some questions related to the expected vaccine.
How will the vaccine work?
Regarding the mechanism of action of the vaccine, Gintsburg said: “Our cancer vaccine is therapeutic, that is, it is intended for people who already suffer from cancer. This medicine is called a vaccine because it is designed to activate our immune system. Thanks to it, we will make the lymphocytes work to recognize cancer cells and destroy them. An individual vaccine will be produced.” For each patient, but using the same technology, doctors will take samples from tumors and from healthy cells, and researchers will compare them and identify the parts in which the mutation occurred, and these parts in particular will become the basis for the vaccine, and once they enter the body they will attract the attention of lymphocytes that will destroy the injected cells, remember them and begin to Fighting cancer cells. This mechanism has been successfully applied to laboratory animals, which indicates that this method is promising.
Where will the vaccine be injected?
Gintsburg pointed out that the vaccine will not be given intravenously, because because of its composition, it will go to the liver in this case, and will not be of any benefit, so it is better for it to be injected directly into the tumor if doctors are able to reach the tumor, or it can be injected intramuscularly, as it has shown Studies show that this method will help distribute the medicine evenly throughout the body, which means it will be effective.
How many injections does a patient need to recover completely?
Gintsburg pointed out that this matter will depend on the body’s immune response to the objects that will be injected with the vaccine, as it will be possible to put several different cells in one vaccine, and the reaction in the body will be different in intensity for each cell, and the stronger the immune response, the less The number of injections required, as the treatment may require one or two injections, and if the immune response is weak, it is necessary to increase the number of injections, but on average up to five injections.
Can a vaccine become a means in itself to treat cancer, or is it better to use it in combination with other methods?
Gintsburg answers: “At first, we thought that the vaccine could treat cancer on its own, but it became clear that it would be more effective if used with a method known to oncologists, which is called (checkpoint blockade), without the vaccine, and when the killer lymphocytes start By affecting the tumor, proteins are produced that stop the activity of these cells. Therefore, antibodies have been developed that prevent the tumor from releasing these proteins. Therefore, this type of treatment must be applied in conjunction with the use of the vaccine so that the trained lymphocytes can easily destroy the tumor.
If the clinical trials of the vaccine go well, what does this give us?
According to Ginzburg, “The success of clinical trials for the new vaccine will help fight various types of cancers for which there is no effective treatment yet, such as some types of skin cancers, lung cancers, and pancreatic cancers, for example. With these diseases, even the old and reliable methods of surgically removing the tumor do not provide “Effective results because relapses may occur later, and the vaccine technology helps the patient’s immune cells recognize and remember cancer cells, and fight them if the disease appears again.”