Cuban Vaccine and Cancer

21.03.2024

CUBA VACCINE AND CANCER

What is a cancer vaccine?

Cancer vaccines are considered one of the promising areas of modern medicine and have the potential to break new ground in the fight against cancer. These vaccines have two primary functions, specifically preventing and treating cancer. Preventive cancer vaccines; It aims to provide protection against some types of cancer, such as cervical cancer, by targeting viruses that can cause cancer. The most well-known examples in this context are vaccines developed against human papillomavirus (HPV) and vaccines against Hepatitis B virus. On the other hand, therapeutic cancer vaccines are being developed for patients who have already been diagnosed with cancer, and these vaccines aim to help treat the disease by activating the patient's immune system against cancer cells. Research in this field is making significant progress, especially in personalized medicine and immunotherapy. Cancer vaccines have the potential to change the course of cancer treatment in the future, and innovations in this field are closely followed with constantly developing technologies and research.

Generally, cancer vaccines can be divided into two main categories:

Preventive (Prophylactic) Cancer Vaccines: Such vaccines target viruses that can cause cancer. For example, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine aims to protect against types of cancer caused by HPV, such as cervical cancer. Hepatitis B vaccine also provides protection against liver cancer caused by the Hepatitis B virus.

Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines:These types of vaccines are used to treat patients who have already been diagnosed with cancer. These vaccines aim to direct the patient's immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Particularly for some tumor types, personalized vaccines are being developed to enable the patient's own immune system to attack cancer cells more effectively.

Cancer vaccines are one of the most innovative approaches to cancer treatment and are seen as part of immune therapy. However, research in this area is still ongoing and many cancer vaccines are still in the clinical trial stages.

Image 1: Nowadays, vaccines are a very important preventive health practice in preventing infectious diseases.

IN WHICH CANCERS ARE CANCER VACCINES USED

Cancer vaccines have shown promising results in some types of cancer, especially in the therapeutic field. However, because this area is still the subject of active research, most cancer vaccines are in the clinical trial stages. Here are some examples:

Melanoma: Therapeutic cancer vaccines developed for melanoma aim to activate the immune system specifically against skin cancer cells. Some clinical trials have shown that such vaccines against melanoma may be effective.

Prostate cancer: Sipuleucel-T is an FDA-approved therapeutic cancer vaccine used for the treatment of metastatic, hormone-resistant prostate cancer. This vaccine uses the patient's own immune cells to train them to fight cancer.

Brain Tumors: Clinical trials are being conducted on the potential benefits of personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines in some glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. These vaccines use antigens obtained from the patient's own tumor cells.

Hematological Cancers: Therapeutic vaccines are also being developed for blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. These vaccines usually use materials derived from the patient's own tumor cells or specific tumor antigens.

Lung cancer: Therapeutic vaccines for lung cancer have shown promising results, especially in studies on non-small cell lung cancer.

The effectiveness of cancer vaccines depends on the type of cancer, the patient's general health, the stage of the cancer, and many other factors. Therefore, when making decisions about any cancer treatment, it is important to talk in detail with an oncologist and consider your personal health situation.

Image 2: Cancer vaccines are currently divided into two groups: preventive and therapeutic.

CUBA VACCINE

Cancer vaccines developed in Cuba include two main vaccines known as Racotumomab and Cimavax EGF, which are specifically used to treat lung cancer. These vaccines aim to target the characteristics of cancer cells so that the immune system fights against these cells more effectively.

Racotumomab triggers an immune response against the NeuGcGM3 ganglioside, a protein found in cancer cells and not in normal tissues. Clinical studies have shown that these vaccines can extend life expectancy in lung cancer patients by several months. The average life expectancy was extended by approximately 2 months in patients receiving the Racotumomab vaccine, and by an average of 3 months in patients receiving the Cimavax vaccine. However, there are also studies on the effects of these vaccines on long-term life expectancy.

The CIMAvax-EGF vaccine, developed in Cuba, is a therapeutic cancer vaccine used to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This vaccine consists of a chemical conjugate of human recombinant epidermal growth factor (EGF) and a carrier protein and contains the Montanide ISA51 adjuvant. The aim of the vaccine is to reduce the concentration of EGF in serum by producing antibodies that block the interaction of EGF with EGF-EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor).

Image 3: Although positive results have been achieved in cancer treatment today with cancer vaccines, there is no vaccine that can completely cure cancer.

Phase III clinical trials have shown that CIMAvax-EGF is generally well tolerated in patients with advanced NSCLC and significantly increases median survival in patients who complete treatment. The most common side effects of the vaccine in these studies were mild reactions such as pain at the injection site, fever, vomiting and headache. The vaccine reduced serum EGF concentration by inducing anti-EGF antibodies. The mean survival time in the vaccine arm was higher than in the control arm, especially in patients who received at least four vaccine doses. Additionally, median survival was even higher for patients with high EGF concentrations at baseline. These findings demonstrate that CIMAvax-EGF is a safe and effective treatment option for patients with advanced NSCLC. However, more research and data are needed on the effectiveness and use of this vaccine. The results of clinical trials conducted to evaluate the vaccine's effectiveness and safety allow us to better understand the vaccine's potential role in the treatment of this type of cancer.

Cancer vaccines are generally used together with standard cancer treatments (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery), aiming to increase treatment effectiveness and strengthen the patient's immune response. However, most treatments in this area are still in the research and development phase and require more data and approval for wide-scale clinical use.

It is important to be cautious about the "curing" ability of cancer vaccines. Cancer is a very diverse and complex disease, and currently available therapeutic cancer vaccines may not be effective in every type of cancer or in every patient. Additionally, these vaccines are often used in combination with other cancer treatment methods (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapies).

Resources:

https://aacrjournals.org/clincancerres/article/22/15/3782/79235/A-Phase-III-Clinical-Trial-of-the-Epidermal-Growth

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0093775418300435?via%3Dihub

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1586/14760584.2015.1079488

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2017.00269/full

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14712598.2018.1492539