Russia has administered its first personalised mRNA-based cancer vaccine to a patient with melanoma, marking a milestone in its oncology programme, Russia Today reported on Wednesday.
Citing the Russian Ministry of Health, Izvestia reported that the vaccine was given to a 60-year-old patient from the Kursk region in what officials described as the first use of a domestically developed personalised cancer vaccine in clinical practice.
The procedure was carried out at the National Medical Research Center of Radiology in Moscow, where the patient was administered the experimental mRNA-based antitumour vaccine Neoonkovac alongside ongoing immunotherapy.
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A report in Izvestia confirmed that Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said: “This is a truly important event for world medical science, for oncology… This breakthrough treatment technology will very soon become available to citizens of our country who need such treatment for medical reasons. This is not a panacea, but an additional tool in the hands of oncologists.”
Officials noted that the patient remains at high risk of disease progression, with limited standard treatment options, making the personalised vaccine a potential method to help control the illness.
Andrey Kaprin, Director General of the Radiology Research Centre, highlighted the shift towards precision medicine. “For the first time, we have used an mRNA vaccine designed for a specific patient. This is a fundamentally different approach, not just to treat the disease, but to ‘train' the immune system to recognize and destroy exactly those cells that pose a threat,” he reportedly said.
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The vaccine is currently being positioned as a treatment option for adult patients with inoperable or metastatic melanoma. Meanwhile, Alexander Gintsburg, scientific director at the Gamaleya National Research Center, earlier claimed the vaccine's effectiveness could exceed 90%, though comprehensive peer-reviewed data is yet to be published.
The development signals Russia's push towards personalised immunotherapy, even as global experts emphasise the need for larger clinical trials and independent validation before broader adoption.
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