What You Need to Know About the Russian Cancer Vaccine

Cancer - the most debilitating disease on the planet. No matter which way you look at it, cancer is the worst thing that can happen to you. From blood cancer to brain cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer and the other types, they all share something in common - a measly survival rate.

Cancer kills. It’s as simple as that.

And it’s a messy, horrible end, depending on the cancer you’re afflicted by. It eats away at the body, leaving you a shell of your former self.

For decades, we have been trying to find vaccines, but it keeps eluding us. There are quite a few treatments for cancer, but none of them guarantee success. Also, they cost quite a fortune.

This is where the Russians have struck big. Russians have come up with a vaccine that they claim to be the answer against cancer. The best part is they are apparently going to give it away for free. At least, that’s what is circulating around the news. But what is the reality? Let’s find out!

How Does This Work - Latest Russian Cancer Vaccine Updates

This vaccine is an mRNA vaccine - it uses a small part of messenger RNA to make the body’s cells produce a particular protein. The immune system recognises and attacks those cancer cells, instructing the body to target cancer. Usually, traditional vaccines depend on weak or inactive pathogens.

This new vaccine uses the body’s own cellular machinery to craft a unique, precise immune response tailored to the cancer that it is treating. Once introduced, these antigens instruct the immune system to come up with antibodies so they can target and destroy cancer cells effectively.

In layman's terms, it makes cells in the body produce a foreign protein. These proteins get recognised by the immune system, making it produce an immune response that kills any cells that produce these foreign proteins. This vaccine is a breakthrough in medical science, not only in Russia but in the whole world. Right now, development is being done in Russia, after which it will be distributed to treatment centres around the world to be given to cancer patients who have lost all hopes of survival.

According to Alexander Gintsburg, Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, the cancer vaccine’s pre-clinical trials had shown that it suppresses tumour development and potential metastases.

Gintsberg says that use of artificial neural networks could reduce the duration of computing needed to come up with a personalized cancer vaccine. The current process takes time, but AI could cut this time drastically. He said that the Ivannikov Institute, which will rely on AI to do this math, which is neural network computing, would reduce time dramatically, about half an hour, to be exact.

Cancer treatment has never seen this kind of vaccine before, and it is slated to bring new hope to patients who are suffering from cancer. This vaccine is a medical milestone and a game-changer. The announcement by the Russian Health Ministry was first publicised on December 15 by TASS, the Russian state-owned news agency.

Russia did not collaborate with any other countries to come up with this vaccine. This vaccine represents a purely Russian effort and promises to put Russia on the cancer treatment map.

The cost of this vaccine to the state is around 300,000 rubles or $ 2,869 per dose. Meanwhile, Sipuleucel-T costs $93,000 for three injections, and pembrolizumab, a melanoma vaccine, costs $185,000 per year. It will severely reduce the cost of treatment for cancer and finally, even common people will have a hope of getting treatment.

This vaccine shall be distributed for free once it is launched. As of now, distribution hasn’t been planned. Once the vaccine is ready, however, it will be dispatched to various treatment centres where it will be given to patients.

Well, this marks a significant stride in cancer treatment worldwide. Presently, whatever vaccines are available for cancer are so expensive that the common man cannot afford these as part of regular cancer treatment for their loved ones. Once this vaccine is released, it will be administered for free to cancer patients, which means you can expect the incidence of various types of cancers in Russia to go down dramatically.