Cuba Has Had A 'Lung Cancer Vaccine' For Years, And Now It's Coming To The U.S

The drug called CimaVax has been researched in Cuba for the past 25-years. It's actually been available free to the Cuban public since 2011. What this drug has reportedly shown in clinical trials for fighting, and possibly preventing lung cancer is said to be very promising. This drug could hopefully be used to fight other types of cancer as well, and now it looks like it's about to begin testing in the U.S.

Dr. Kelvin Lee, Jacobs Family Chair in Immunology and co-leader of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York says "We’re still at the very early stages of assessing the promise of this vaccine, but the evidence so far from clinical trials in Cuba and Europe has been striking" according to huffingtonpost.com.

So, how does CimaVax work? It's reported that the drug kick starts the body to start producing antibodies that attack particular growth factors that cancer cells make. According to The Huffing Post, "People who already have lung cancer, this response results in the body actually getting rid of the cancer cells. And for people who are currently healthy but at high risk for lung cancer -- say, a lung cancer patient in remission -- the treatment acts as a vaccine to prevent future relapse".

CimaVax is not a cure for cancer, but apparently a therapeutic vaccine that attacks proteins and prevents the tumor from growing.

A drug this amazing has got be so expensive most people could never afford it right? Actually, The Huffington Post reports the shot only costs the Cuban government $1.

Oh yeah, and up till now, no significant side effects reported.

At this time, there isn't any sort of timeline as far as when or if CimaVax will be available in the U.S., but boy I hope it's quick if it's indeed everything it's supposed to be.

You can read a lot more on this story over www.huffingtonpost.com