Cuba Announces Release of the World's First Lung Cancer Vaccine
From the island nation known for the quality of its cigars comes some pretty big news today: Xinhua reports that Cuban medical authorities have released the first therapeutic vaccine for lung cancer. CimaVax-EGF is the result of a 25-year research project at Havana's Center for Molecular Immunology, and it could make a life or death difference for those facing late-stage lung cancers, researchers there say. CimaVax-EGF isn't a vaccine in the preventative sense--that is, it doesn't prevent lung cancer from taking hold in new patients. It's based on a protein related to uncontrolled cell proliferation--that is, it doesn't prevent cancer from existing in the first place but attacks the mechanism by which it does harm. Related ArticlesFirst Vaccine Developed in Space is Headed for Human TrialsFDA Approves First Cancer Vaccine, Heralding a New Era in TreatmentHuman Vaccine Cures Prostate Cancer in MiceTagsScience, Clay Dillow, cancer, cancer vaccines, cuba, health, lung cancer, vaccinesAs...