In what can be said to be the discovery of the century, the Russian government says it has developed its own cancer vaccine. The vaccine is expected to be launched in early 2025.
“Russia has developed its own mRNA vaccine against cancer, it will be distributed to patients free of charge, General Director of the Radiology Medical Research Center of the Russian Ministry of Health Andrey Kaprin has told Radio Rossiya,” Russian news agency TASS has reported.
“The vaccine’s pre-clinical trials had shown that it suppresses tumor development and potential metastases,” Director of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Alexander Gintsburg told TASS.
Earlier this year, Russia 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”.
AI can develop vaccines in an hour
Amidst vaccine trials, Gintsburg told the media that the use of artificial neural networks could bring down the duration of computing required to create a personalized cancer vaccine, which is currently a lengthy process, to less than an hour.
“Now it takes quite long to build [personalized vaccines] because computing how a vaccine, or customized mRNA, should look like uses matrix methods, in mathematical terms. We have involved the Ivannikov Institute which will rely on AI in doing this math, namely neural network computing where these procedures should take about half an hour to an hour,” Russia’s vaccine chief said.
Role of vaccine in cancer management
Vaccines can combat cancer by stimulating the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. Therapeutic cancer vaccines target specific proteins or antigens expressed by tumor cells, training the immune system to identify and destroy them. For instance, some vaccines use weakened or modified viruses to deliver these antigens, prompting a strong immune response. Preventive vaccines, like the HPV vaccine, protect against viruses linked to cancer, reducing the risk of certain cancers, such as cervical cancer. By enhancing the body’s natural defenses, vaccines can slow tumor growth, prevent recurrence, or even eliminate early-stage cancers, offering a promising tool in oncology.