Cuba Registers Antitumor Therapeutic Vaccine for Lung Cancer

Havana, Jan 11. -The first therapeutic vaccine for advanced lung cancer was registered in Cuba and its effectiveness is being tested in other tumors such as prostate, uterus and breast.

The drug that is called CIMAVAX-EGF acts directly on the tumor, unlike traditional treatments focused on the chemo and radiation treatments, which are nonspecific and attack infected and healthy cells, the Cuban specialist Gisela González said.

In statements to the newspaper Trabajadores, the project leader said that many anti-cancer vaccine candidates were in the third phase of clinical trials because they do not show efficacy; however, CIMAVAX-EGF converts the advanced tumor into a chronic disease under control.

The vaccine is administered after conventional therapy when the patient is considered terminally ill patients without therapeutic alternative.

CIMAVAX-EGF is composed by the Epidermal Growth Factor, linked to another protein that helps the immune system to create the desired immune response against the EGF.The body of those vaccinated produces antibodies that recognize and bind specifically to EGF, avoiding its binding to the receptor and the beginning of cell proliferation. The effect is a decrease in tumor growth, depending upon each patient�s response.

Conceived by the Centre for Molecular Immunology and the Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Centre after 15 years of research, CIMAVAX-EGF is currently progressing in its registration in other nations, the expert said. (Prensa Latina)