CimaVax-EGF, the first vaccine against lung cancer, debuts in Cuba

Following regulatory approval earlier this year, Cuban medical authorities have launched the world's first therapeutic vaccine against lung cancer, according to local officials quoted by China’s Xinhau news agency.

Called CimaVax-EGF, the vaccine is the result of a 25-year research into diseases related to tobacco smoking, and has been developed by researchers and scientists at the Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM) in Havana.

The active drug ingredient in the vaccine is based on "a protein we all have when cancer is uncontrolled. The epidermal growth factor is related to all cell proliferation," said Gisela Gonzalez, head researcher of the project. "The drug could turn the cancer into a manageable, chronic disease by generating antibodies against the proteins which triggered the uncontrolled cell proliferation," she said, noting that "it is not possible to prevent the disease but this vaccine improves significantly the status of the critically ill patients."