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Russia runs own personalized cancer therapy research

Russian cancer therapy research program is similar to the gene-altering leukemia treatment recently announced by US scientists

VLADIVOSTOK, September 8. /TASS/. Russian scientists have been running their own cancer therapy research program, similar to the gene-altering leukemia treatment recently announced by US scientists, the head of Russia’s Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) told TASS on Friday.

US scientists have earlier made headlines all over the world by announcing the new cancer treatment that uses the patient’s own immune cells.

"By the way, we run a similar program simultaneously with the Americans. They simply announced it, and we chose to keep it silent. But we move in the same direction, and we do not fall behind, we run neck and neck. We have followed a similar pattern [during tests] on animals and we got positive results," FMBA chief Vladimir Uiba said.

The official added that the future of the medicine lies in similar personified technologies.

According to Uiba, genetic research and testing should be used not only in treating, but also in preventing cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

"In fact, the genome studies that we are doing today may give a 100-percent accurate forecast, including regarding the possibility of cardiovascular conditions in this or that person. In this sense, there is nothing new about it," he said. "We may say that this person needs to closely monitor his cardiovascular system after the age of 40, because he carries is a genetic predisposition that is transferred from one generation to another, and it requires attention."

According to the official, a true scientific breakthrough will take place when scientists will be able to alter the parts of a human genome that pose potential danger.