Russia has developed a personalised cancer vaccine to be launched next year, the director of the Gamaleya National Research Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, Alexander Guintsburg, told RT.

The vaccine was developed by the Sirius University of Science and Technology and the Gamaleya National Research Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology together with major Russian cancer centres. Guintsburg said each vaccine will be created individually for each patient, as no two tumours are the same.

According to the Gamaleya Centre director, the vaccine will be based on an mRNA platform and will train the human body’s immune system to attack malignant cells. Thanks to the vaccine, cells will appear in the body that recognise foreign proteins, attach to the tumour and release active enzymes. Some enzymes will create holes in the affected cells, while others will penetrate through them and destroy the tumour proteins. Thanks to this mechanism, inflammation is not initiated and not only the tumour but also the metastasising cells are destroyed, Guíntsburg explained.

Tests are currently being conducted in animals, but the vaccine is expected to be tested in humans in September next year. Guíntsburg said that development of the vaccine began in mid-2022 by specialists from the same team that created Sputnik VI, the Russian vaccine against covid-19.

«In 10-15 years, humanity will also consequently extend the possibility of living without these diseases,» Guíntsburg predicted, adding that, over time, the current concept of cancer as a disease will change.

(With information from RT en Español)