Cuba tests prostate cancer vaccine

Cuban scientists said on September 24 that they had completed the second clinical trial of a vaccine that can fight prostate cancer.

Urologist Ranfis Rodriguez said the health conditions of 56 patients improved significantly after being vaccinated with Heber Provac at two hospitals.

Mr Rodriguez, head of the research team at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) in the city of Camaguey, 530km east of Havana, said the Heber Provac vaccine reduced prostate-specific antigen (PSA) with little or no production of testosterone, which is a hormone that stimulates prostate cells to become cancerous.

Photo is for illustration purposes only. (Source: cadenagramonte.cu)

Heber Provac vaccine is used in the late stages of prostate cancer and before the patient receives radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Jesus Junco, another expert at CIGB, said the Heber Provac vaccine, designed to fight stage 3 and 4 cancers, would be as effective or more effective than standard treatments in the future.

Scientists will study how the Heber Provac vaccine interacts with other drugs and compare it with standard drugs and treatments used to fight prostate cancer.

Every year, more than 2,500 men get prostate cancer in Cuba, most of them over 60 years old, and 60% of cases are fatal./.

According to (Vietnam+) - VT