A major announcement Wednesday morning at Roswell Park Cancer Institute could make tremendous strides in cancer treatment.
Roswell C.E.O, Dr. Candace Johnson announced the government's approval to bring a vaccine made in Cuba to Buffalo for clinical research in the fight against lung cancer.
Dr. Johnson said the experimental vaccine, called CIMAvax, is a different approach than existing therapies to fighting this type of cancer. "Lung Cancer cells are addicted to a growth factor and if the growth factor is present, than the tumors grow. Well, if you vaccinate people against the growth factor, then when the growth factor can't be produced, the tumors die. It's genius and it's effective," she explained.
The new trial will begin in about 30 days for this drug and will feature 60-90 patients with advanced lung cancer. Dr. Johnson says, in addition to advancing cancer treatments, the trial will create more jobs in Western New York.
"One day, CIMAvax will hopefully be used to prevent lung cancer, not just treat it," said Dr. Johnson.
For more information on the study, click here.
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