Cuba tests prostate cancer vaccine

Cuban scientists said Monday that they have concluded the second round of clinic trial of a potential vaccine against prostate cancer. Urologist Ranfis Rodriguez said 56 patients, who were vaccinated in two hospitals, showed a remarkable improvement in their condition. A decrease in specific prostate tumor antigens was observed with little or no production of testosterone, said Rodriguez, who leads a research team at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) in Camaguey, a city of 530 km east of Havana. The Heber Provac vaccine is applied in advanced stages of prostate cancer but before the patient receives X-ray or chemotherapy treatment, in order to make hormonal suppression possible, he said. Another CIGB expert, Jesus Junco, said the vaccine designed to combat stage 3 and 4 malignant tumors should be as effective as or more effective than standard treatments in the future. Researchers will study the vaccine's interaction with other drugs and make comparison with standard drugs and treatments used to fight the disease, he said. Each year, more than 2,500 men develop prostate cancer in Cuba, most of them aged over 60, and 60 percent of the cases are fatal, according to official data.