Cancer vaccine under development in Russia to target incurable types of cancer

MOSCOW. July 24 (Interfax) - A cancer vaccine, which is under development, will be primarily created against those types of cancer that have no satisfactory treatment methods, Director of the Russian Health Ministry's Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology Alexander Gintsburg said.

"This technology is universal, a vaccine personalized against not only every type of cancer, but for every individual. But first and foremost, a vaccine will be created against those types of cancer for which there are currently no satisfactory treatment methods," Gintsburg told reporters.

He said that these include melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, certain kidney cancers and "probably a number of other cancers."

He also said that clinical trials of the vaccine could be launched in the middle of next year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on February 14 that Russian scientists are close to creating cancer vaccines.