Belarus approves Cuban lung cancer vaccine

According to a reporter in Havana, on July 14, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said that the Belarusian Ministry of Health has approved the Cimavax vaccine for treating lung cancer produced by Cuba.

To date, this is the only drug in the world that uses immunotherapy to treat certain forms of lung cancer.

Cuban Ambassador to Minsk Santiago Perez stressed that the decision by the Belarusian health authorities marks another undeniable achievement for Cuba's biotechnology industry. Belarus is a country with high and strict health standards. It is also the first European country to approve Cuba's Soberana vaccine against COVID-19.

Cimavax vaccine. (Photo: cubamedic.net).

Cimavax is the first lung cancer vaccine to be patented and officially registered in the world . This preparation does not have a disease prevention function in the usual understanding of vaccine function, but has the ability to inhibit the growth of tumors already present in the patient's body.

According to researchers, unlike the mechanism of action of other lung cancer treatment drugs that directly attack cancer cells, the Cimavax vaccine helps strengthen the patient's immune system, helping to produce antibodies to prevent cancer and slow the growth of cancer cells , thereby prolonging the patient's life.

Cimavax works as a treatment for lung cancer, and is known as a 'therapeutic vaccine'.

The Cimavax vaccine is used in combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Clinical trials have shown that the drug does not cause side effects (such as difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, weight loss), helps patients reduce pain and can extend their lives by an average of more than 11 months, and in some cases even longer.

The above Cuban preparation is also effective in treating brain cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer and uterine cancer. Cuban scientists continue to further research the use of this special medicine in cancer treatment.

The Cimavax vaccine, developed by Cuba's Center for Molecular Immunology, has attracted worldwide attention and has been tested in the United States, Japan and several European countries. US regulators have recommended its use for the most severely ill patients.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lung cancer is the most common and dangerous type of cancer, killing 1.4 million people worldwide each year. Although current treatments can improve survival rates for cancer patients when detected early, for patients with late-stage lung cancer, the 5-year survival rate is less than 1%.