Putin claims breakthrough in cancer vaccines amid Ukraine crisis
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that his country is close to developing vaccines for cancer that could revolutionize the treatment of the deadly disease.
Speaking at a forum on future technologies in Moscow, Putin said that Russian scientists had made significant progress in creating “so-called cancer vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs of a new generation”. He expressed hope that these vaccines would soon be available to patients as “methods of individual therapy”.
Putin did not provide any details on the types of cancer or the mechanisms of the vaccines, but he implied that they were based on stimulating the body’s own immune system to fight the disease. He also did not mention any clinical trials or peer-reviewed studies to back up his claims.
The announcement comes amid rising tensions between Russia and the West over the situation in Ukraine, where Moscow has amassed tens of thousands of troops near the border. Putin has accused NATO of provoking a conflict and threatened to use force if necessary to protect Russian interests. Some analysts have speculated that Putin’s announcement of the cancer vaccines was a diversionary tactic to distract from the Ukraine crisis and boost his domestic popularity.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, according to the World Health Organization.
There are currently six licensed vaccines against human papillomaviruses (HPV) that cause many cancers, including cervical cancer, as well as vaccines against hepatitis B (HBV), which can lead to liver cancer. However, there is no vaccine that can prevent or cure all types of cancer.
Several countries and companies are working on developing cancer vaccines, which aim to either prevent cancer from developing or treat existing tumors by stimulating the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.
For example, the UK government signed an agreement with Germany-based BioNTech last year to launch clinical trials providing “personalised cancer treatments”, aiming to reach 10,000 patients by 2030.
Pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck & Co are developing an experimental cancer vaccine that a mid-stage study showed to cut the chance of recurrence or death from melanoma – the most deadly skin cancer – by half after three years of treatment.
It remains unclear whether Putin’s announcement of the cancer vaccines was based on any scientific evidence or whether it was a political stunt. Either way, it has raised hopes and doubts among the public and the experts alike.
