Russia develops cancer vaccine, offering new hope for patients

OVERVIEW

• Russia has developed a new cancer vaccine, the country’s news agency has reported.
• It is an mRNA vaccine that creates a precise immune response.
• The vaccine will be free of charge to patients by early 2025.
• A drug based on oncolytic viruses directly destroys tumor cells, while an mRNA vaccine trains the body to recognize and eliminate these tumors.
• The vaccine is not for prevention it is for treatment.

Do you recall the statement made by Russian President Hon’ble Mr. Valdimir Putin, “We have come very close to the creation of so-called cancer vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs of a new generation.”

Cancer is a big threat to people worldwide. It causes a lot of emotional and financial problems for families. The main reasons are the high cost of treatment and the lack of a sure cure. But now, Russia has made a big breakthrough in fighting cancer. They have developed a cancer vaccine. This vaccine is meant to help people who already have cancer, not to prevent it. The vaccine is expected to be launched soon in2025.

"Russia has developed its own mRNA vaccine against cancer, it will be distributed to patients free of charge”

Mr. Andrey Kaprin

^{General Director of the Radiology Medical Research Center of the Russian Ministry of Health}  

“The vaccine’s pre-clinical trials had shown that it suppresses tumor development and potential metastases."

Mr. Alexander Gintsburg

 ^{Director of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology}

“The vaccine is developed jointly by several teams of scientists, representing the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute and Blokhin Cancer Research Center. The research is financed by the state as part of the governmental order”

Mr. Mikhail Murashko

^{Russian Health Minister}

Role of Vaccine in Cancer Treatment

Vaccines are becoming a crucial tool in cancer management. By stimulating the immune system to identify and attack cancer cells, these vaccines can combat the disease effectively. There are two primary categories of cancer vaccines: therapeutic and preventive.

Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines: These vaccines are designed to train the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. They often involve modified viruses that deliver specific tumor antigens, prompting a targeted immune response.

 Preventive Vaccines: These vaccines, like the HPV vaccine, protect against viruses that are linked to cancer development. By vaccinating against these viruses, the risk of cancers such as cervical cancer can be significantly reduced.

Ultimately, cancer vaccines enhance the body’s natural defenses, slowing tumor growth, preventing recurrences, and potentially eliminating early-stage cancers.

 “A drug based on oncolytic viruses is not a vaccine, per se. It is rather classified as a therapeutic. Unlike vaccines, which aim to prevent diseases (like the HPV vaccine), oncolytic viruses are designed to treat existing cancer by killing cancer cells directly. It is a targeted drug with a direct effect on the tumor, like, for example, chemotherapy. Chemotherapeutic drugs are essentially poisonous substances that more or less selectively destroy cancer cells. Or radiation therapy, when we “burn” the tumor with a beam. Oncolytic viruses act at the biological level, replicating within tumor cells, leading to cell death.

As for an mRNA vaccine, it already has a preventive and therapeutic effect. Cancer cells have certain protein antigens, and we need to direct the immune system to these antigens. When a person is sick, the immune system does not see these antigens for some reason: for example, a person is weakened, there are some failures, the tumor is disguised and does not allow the immune system to detect itself, etc. If we know what antigens, what proteins are associated with this tumor, we can artificially stimulate the immune system. That is, we can encode protein sequences of cancer antigens in mRNA, introduce this mRNA into the body so that these antigens are generated in the body and the immune system is forced to attack them. Before this, it does not recognize them, but in this way, we stimulate a robust immune response against them."

Mr. Dmitry Shcherbakov

^{Director of the Research Institute of Biological Medicine at Altai State University}

Details about Vaccine

The name of the vaccine has not yet been revealed. However, it has been confirmed that Russia is developing personalized cancer vaccines, similar to efforts being made in other countries. While the exact launch date remains unconfirmed, the vaccine is expected to debut in early 2025.

Stats of Cancer in India and Russia-

• According to local news reports of Russia , cancer cases have been spiking across the country- Russia, with more than 6,35,000 cases recorded in 2022.
• Colon, breast, and lung cancers are believed to be the Russia’s most common forms of the deadly disease, which can be caused by gene mutations that can be inherited, developed over time, or be caused by exposure to things like cigarette smoke or alcohol.
• In India, 14.13 lakh new cancer cases were reported in 2022, with 7.22 lakh cases in women and 6.91 lakh in men. Cancer claimed 9.16 lakh lives in the same year.
• According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), cancer cases in India are expected to rise by 12% over the next five years. Notably, lifestyle factors are the primary reason for the increasing incidence of early-age cancer, as per a study published in Nature Journal.
• Globally, cancers of the breast, prostate, and thyroid are predominant in individuals under 50. In India, breast, oral, cervical, and lung cancers are the most frequently diagnosed types.

The Role of AI in Personalized Vaccine Development

The challenge of creating personalized vaccines stems from the complexity of tumor biology and the lengthy computational processes involved. Gintsburg explained that traditional methods rely on matrix mathematics to compute the optimal design of customized mRNA, currently taking a substantial amount of time. However, with the involvement of the Ivannikov Institute and the use of AI, specifically neural network computing, this process could be drastically expedited.

According to Gintsburg, the AI system will require a robust experimental base of 40,000 to 50,000 tumor sequences to identify antigen compatibilities specific to individual patients. This data will help determine potential combinations for effective personalized vaccines, further speeding up the development process to an astounding 30 minutes to an hour.

Other Steps taken in recent years for Cancer Treatment-

• 2023-  the U.K. government signed a contract with a German biotechnology company to create personalized cancer treatments.
• Pharmaceutical giants Moderna and Merck & Co. are also collaborating on a skin cancer vaccine.
• 2024-researchers at the University of Florida tested an individualized vaccine on four glioblastoma patients earlier this year.

The Medical Bulletin