Explainer: Russia launches new cancer vaccine; how does it work?

According to TASS, the state-run news agency, this cancer vaccine has been developed in partnership with several research centres and has been financed by the state.

Cancer rates are rising in Russia, with more than 635,000 cases recorded in 2022. Colon, breast, and lung cancers are believed to be the most common in the country.

But, what are cancer vaccines? Like the Covid vaccine, are they meant for the general public to prevent them from getting cancer? Or, is it targeted at individuals suffering from cancer? How does it work and what is the significance of this vaccine in the battle against the Big C.

Firstly, what are cancer vaccines?

Cancer vaccines work like immunotherapy and are not meant to be taken as a form of protection. Notably, cancer vaccines treat people who already have the disease.

Essentially, they are designed to help the patient’s immune system to recognise and kill cancer cells – and prevent them from coming back.

Also read: Russian scientists on verge of creating cancer vaccine, claims Putin

What will Russia’s cancer vaccine do?

Alexander Gintsburg, director of Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology, told TASS that pre-clinical trials have demonstrated that the vaccine can suppress tumour growth and prevent potential metastases.

Who can take the shot?

The vaccine is meant to treat cancer patients and not the general public.

Russian government scientists said that each shot will be personalised for the individual patient. 

How does it work?

A small fraction of genetic material called RNA (a molecule that carries specific instructions from DNA) is taken from a patient’s own tumour. And, in the same way traditional vaccines use part of the virus to prevent disease, these vaccines use harmless proteins from the surface of cancer cells, known as antigens.

When these antigens are introduced into the body, it stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies against them, which then kill the cancer cells. 

It is effectively teaching the body to target the disease. mRNA vaccines are using the body's own cellular machinery to create an immune response tailored to the cancer being treated. 

In a nutshell, personalized cancer vaccines, as they are known, are designed to teach the immune system how to recognize and attack proteins specific to that patient's cancer. 

Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in televised comments that "we have come very close to the creation of so-called cancer vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs of a new generation".

"I hope that soon they will be effectively used as methods of individual therapy," he added.

What all is not clear in Russia's cancer vaccine?

It is currently not clear which cancers the vaccine developed by Russia is designed to treat. Or, how effective it is or how Russia plans to roll it out.

The name of the vaccine has also not been revealed.

Also read: British Indian doctor to undertake ‘ground-breaking’ cancer vaccine trial

Is Russia the first to work on personalised cancer vaccines?

No, clinical trials for personalised cancer vaccines targetting specific cancers are going on in the USA and UK. For example, in the UK, scientists are testing a personalised vaccine for melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer.

Early results have shown that it drastically improved the survival chances of the disease and for stopping the cancer in its tracks.

Impact of the arrival of cancer vaccines?

Doctors and scientists have been working on cancer vaccines for decades but they have now reached a point where the wheel seems to be turning.

Vaccines have protected millions of people from diseases like measles and mumps, polio and coronavirus. It also wiped out smallpox. Now, experts are using it to fight cancer. According to experts, it will not replace surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy in cancer treatments in the near future.

But, it can play a key role in immunotherapy, the fourth weapon against cancer.

There are many challenges, including the fact that creating personalised jabs for individual patients is a laborious process, which can probably be speeded up with artificial intelligence.

But, doctors and scientists working on cancer vaccines for decades feel they have now reached a point where they are seeing real benefits for patients.