A cancer vaccine developed in Russia is working effectively in the body of the first patient

Doctors in the country say initial results are very positive after the application of the first personalized vaccine for the skin cancer melanoma developed in Russia.

Alexander Ginzberg, scientific director of Gamalea National Research Institute, said that the first patient who received this vaccine named "Neoncovac" is healthy and his body has the necessary immunity to fight the disease.

Last year, the Russian Ministry of Health approved two personalized cancer treatments developed in the country—including the mRNA-based vaccine Neoncovac for advanced melanoma and the peptide drug Oncopepti targeting colorectal cancer.

Neoncovac was first administered to a 60-year-old man with stage III melanoma and metastasis last April at the Herzen Moscow Oncology Research Institute.

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In an interview with the Ria Novosti news agency on Thursday (July 30), Ginzburg said the patient is currently feeling completely normal and is continuing his treatment. Test results showed a very positive immune response, with the patient's body producing the active compounds needed to fight tumors and metastasis. That patient will be given two more doses and his immune response will be closely monitored throughout the treatment process.

He also said that personalized melanoma vaccine is currently being prepared for ten more patients, which will be ready for use in 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 curing the disease, this approach trains the body's own immune system to identify and destroy threatening cells.

Under this technology, samples of the patient's tumor and healthy tissue are collected and analyzed for their genetic characteristics, and through this, customized vaccines are developed to target and attack cancer cells.

Meanwhile, Russian health officials said that the body of patients who took Oncopepti, used in the treatment of colorectal cancer, was also able to develop the necessary immunity. In addition, Gammalea Institute is currently researching and working on pancreatic, kidney and non-small cell lung cancer treatments.

Source: RT.