Abstract
From Editor’s Desk…

Twenty million new cases and ten million cancer-related deaths were predicted to occur worldwide. Every year, around 2.7 million people in the European Union are diagnosed with cancer, with this statistic anticipated to climb in the future. Around 40% of cancer cases in the EU are preventable. Safe and effective vaccines are available, and they have the potential to save many lives. A number of governments and firms are developing cancer vaccines.

A global trial of the first personalized mRNA cancer immunotherapy for melanoma has begun at University College London Hospital (UCLH), indicating a significant breakthrough in 2024. Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer. Each year, 8,400 new cases are reported in the United Kingdom. It presently ranks fifth.

Exactly two months ago, the Russian scientists stated that they were close to developing cancer vaccines, which might transform cancer treatment worldwide. While he did not specify which cancers or pathways he was targeting, several countries and companies are already investigating similar treatments.

An investigational treatment technique for pancreatic cancer using the messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate autogene cevumeran continues to show promise in eliciting an immune response, potentially lowering the risk of cancer returning after surgery.

According to the World Health Organization, there are currently six licensed vaccines against human papillomaviruses (HPV), which cause a range of cancers, including cervical cancer, as well as vaccines against hepatitis B (HBV), which causes liver cancer.
Furthermore, researchers have obtained critical funding to develop LungVax, which aims to kill cancer cells using a strategy similar to that used to create the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. CureVac N.V. and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center established a collaboration to develop and license new mRNA-based cancer vaccines.

Reference:
•https://www.paho.org/en/campaigns/world-cancer-day-2023-close-care gap#:~:text=Globally%2C%20there%20were%20an%20estimated,10%20million%20deaths%20from%20cancer.
•https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/putin-says-russia-is-close-creatingcancer-vaccines-2024-02-14/
•https://news.sky.com/story/groundbreaking-lung-cancer-vaccine-being-developed-13099391
•https://www.mskcc.org/news/can-mrna-vaccines-fight-pancreatic-cancer-msk-clinical-researchers-are-trying-find-out
•https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/trial-begins-for-groundbreaking-new-personalised-melanoma-treatment/35928

Dr. Khalid Mohammed Alabdulwahhab
Editor in Chief