The first Russian patient who was treated for melanoma and received the Oncov vaccine, metastases disappeared and everything is fine with him for four months, he said in an interview with Gazeta. Ru" the scientific director of the Gunzburg Gamaliya Center.
According to him, the patient has already finished treatment, he is now under monthly supervision, it will last for three years. "Knock on wood: it seems like it's been four months already, but he's doing great," the academic said.
The innovative Russian cancer drug is based on mRNA technology, just like modern vaccines against COVID-19. It "trains" the immune system to independently recognize and destroy tumor cells. The medicine is created individually for each person based on their genetic data.
"This is a very important case, but so far it's a single case, it's too early to say that the vaccine will cure everyone," - lead researcher at the Gamaliya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Anatoly Altstein.
He said it was a therapeutic vaccine aimed at increasing the immunity of a person already ill. In tumor diseases, the development of immunity is often inhibited. In this case, it is possible to expect that the use of immune drugs may be beneficial. There is a lot of world experience in this field, but the results were often dubious. It is not only done in Russia; it is a very promising new direction. The results obtained especially with melanoma are positive. The positive effects of this vaccine are exposed. But we can’t talk about widespread use yet. There must be a second, third and a dozen cases. You can be happy, but still be careful.
Today the Gamlia Center announced that 20 patients will receive a personalized vaccine against tumors by the end of the year. Five more patients have already started treatment with the vaccine.