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- Protective discovery: Russian Federation creates universal oncovaccine and breast cancer map
Protective discovery: Russian Federation creates universal oncovaccine and breast cancer map
The vaccine currently being developed at the Gamaleya Center and other scientific organizations may become a universal means of fighting all types of cancer, said Alexander Gintsburg, director of the scientific organization. Russian scientists have also drawn up a map of cancer-causing genetic mutations characteristic of different ethnic groups in the country, discovered previously unknown hereditary signs of tumor development, and created a methodology for prescribing patients targeted drugs against different types of pathology. "Izvestia" collected the most important discoveries from the field of oncology for the World Cancer Day.
Vaccine against all types of cancer
Developed with the participation of N.F. Gamaleya Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, avaccine against cancer in the future can be used to fight all types of this disease, the director of the scientific organization Alexander Gintsburg told "Izvestia".
- This is a universal approach to fighting cancer. It allows you to overcome immunodeficiency states that the tumor induces to protect itself from the host's immune system. In every human being, hundreds of thousands of altered cells arise at every moment of life as a result of imperfections in the genetic apparatus. The immune system must detect and destroy them. When it fails, it leads to the development of pathology. Our technology takes this into account and, in principle, should give the greatest clinical effect compared to existing methods," he said.
Earlier, the specialist reported that the practical application of personalized mRNA vaccine against cancer may begin as early as September this year. At the first stages, it is planned to be used for the treatment of primary melanoma, kidney, breast and pancreatic cancer. However, in the future, the list of pathologies may be expanded.
Characteristic mutations in different ethnic groups of Russia
Each ethnos has its forebears, who pass on to their descendants not only characteristic external features, but also a set of unique pathogenic mutations. For this reason, hereditary diseases of each nationality have their own peculiarities. The uniqueness of Russia is that our country has preserved homogeneous ethnic communities. Scientists have conducted a large-scale study to identify typical hereditary mutations that are associated with the development of breast cancer in different peoples of our country, told "Izvestia" head of the Department of Tumor Growth Biology at the Petrov National Medical Center of Oncology. N.N. Petrov Research Center of Oncology, RNF grantee Evgeny Imyanitov.
- We established contacts with different regions and recruited patients with clinical manifestations of hereditary breast cancer. We did an analysis of several genes, which showed that although the contribution of BRCA1 and BRCA2 to the development of the disease is comparable in different ethnicities, the sets of mutations are different in ethnic groups. This has important practical implications because, knowing them, it is not always necessary to do a complete genomic analysis, and in many cases it is sufficient to test only for certain changes. This makes it possible to adapt the diagnosis and treatment of cancer diseases to national peculiarities," he noted.
According to the specialist, similar work is now underway to determine national genetic features for other types of tumors.
Radiopharmaceuticals against cancer
In Russia, isotope products are actively used for diagnostics and treatment of cancer diseases. In 2024, Rosatom, which is developing this medical field, delivered the first batches of new technetium-99m generators to medical institutions in Kaliningrad, Tula and Moscow. This isotope isomer is used both as a stand-alone therapeutic agent in solution with sodium pertechnetate and is used to prepare other drugs. Generators are also needed for diagnostics of oncological, cardiological and neuroendocrine pathologies.
The company also resumed deliveries to Moscow hospitals of metaiodbenzylguanidine, a radiopharmaceutical for assessing the functional state of the sympathetic nervous system in children with neuroblastoma. Next year it is planned to start clinical trials of a targeting drug based on thorium-227 isotope, which will be used to treat prostate cancer.
Previously unknown signs of breast cancer
A significant proportion of breast cancer cases are associated with the inheritance of disease-causing mutations in genes. Scientists believe that genetic defects underlie the pathology in 10% of women with this diagnosis. Most often they are mutations in the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, carriers of which have a very high probability of getting cancer during life. However, these changes explain less than half of all hereditary cases, so scientists continue to search for the causes, told "Izvestia" senior researcher of the research laboratory of molecular oncology NMIC Oncology. N.N. Petrov Scientific Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, RNF grantee Ekaterina Kuligina.
- Very often we see patients with clear signs of hereditary cancer syndrome. This is, for example, too early onset of pathology around 35-40years of age, a family history of the disease in blood relatives or the development of several independent tumors at once, which is unusual for cancer. However, the specific genetic cause in these women remains unknown. Usually, researchers focus on obvious disruptions in the coding part of the gene, which results in a protein that is unable to fulfill its function. We decided to analyze those parts of the genome, which themselves do not encode the protein, but regulate its amount and intensity of manifestation, the so-called enhancers and promoters, - she said.
Using next-generation sequencing, the scientists analyzed such regions in patients with hereditary breast cancer of unknown origin. In some samples, they were able to detect defects in regulatory regions of genes that are responsible for maintaining the stability of the genome and protecting it from DNA errors. BRCA1/2 among others fall into this category. Computer analysis of the mutations showed that they may be linked to breast cancer. Three variants, according to scientists, with high probability, are capable of causing the development of pathology, and several more "candidate" mutations require further clarification.
In any case, to prove this connection, the researchers intend to continue experiments on cellular models of cancer. The results of this work will be the basis for expanding the list of inherited traits that are indications for a particular type of therapy. This will help doctors to select the most appropriate drug, the researcher added.
Genetic traits for prescribing targeted drugs
Today, more and more targeted drugs are becoming available, including for the treatment of urothelial cancer and cholangiocarcinoma (a tumor originating from the bile ducts). They are prescribed when patients have certain mutations in certain genes associated with these diseases: in particular, there are changes in the FGFR family of genes. However, existing methods, such as PCR testing, do not easily and quickly detect these mutations. Therefore, scientists have developed a special approach for this purpose, which can be used in clinical practice, told "Izvestia" researcher of the Laboratory of molecular oncology NMIC oncology. N.N. Petrov, RNF grantee Natalia Mityushkina.
- The research requires tumor particles that are obtained after surgery or biopsy. A high-throughput sequencing (NGS) machine determines the DNA sequence. To get it, we need to make a genomic library, i.e. isolate those RNA or DNA fragments that need to be sequenced, and then attach to them the adapters (DNA fragments) needed for the machine to work. This is done with special enzymes. We've created a panel. It includes nucleic acid sequences that hybridize with those parts of genes that need to be studied. This allows sequencing not the entire genome, but only a part of it, which is much cheaper, so the method is suitable for everyday clinical work," she noted.
The scientists have already successfully tested their method of analysis on patients with cholangiocarcinoma. The study involved 168 people, the specialist added.
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