India To Roll Out Vaccine That Fights Many Cancers In Women: Details

A vaccine to fight cancers affecting women will be available in five to six months, and those in the age group of nine to 16 years will be eligible for inoculation, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced on February 18. Addressing a press conference in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Prataprao Jadhav, the Union Minister of State for Health, Family Welfare, and Ayush (Independent Charge) said that the research for the vaccine is in its final stages and will be rolled out soon this year.

India's Cancer Vaccine For Women

Jadhav stated that the vaccine can fight breast, oral, and cervical cancers. He added, "The number of cancer patients has increased in the country, and the Central government has initiated steps to address this issue. Women above 30 will undergo screening at hospitals, and daycare cancer centres will be established for early detection of the disease."

The Minister also stated that the government has also waived off customs duty for medicines used in the treatment of cancer and other terminal illnesses. While announcing the Union Budget 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to add 36 life-saving drugs and medicines to the list of medicines fully exempted from customs duty. 

The government also implemented several measures to combat cancer, including mandatory screening for women over 30 at hospitals and daycare cancer centres to facilitate early detection and treatment of the disease. Minister Jadhav said, "Research on a vaccine for cancers that affect women is nearly complete, and trials are underway."

Global Cancer Research

In December 2024, Russia said they had developed a vaccine based on mRNA that would be used to treat cancer patients. Scientists stated that the vaccine trains the immune system to recognise and combat cancer cells by using parts of the patient's tumour. According to State-run media, the vaccine is ready to be launched in early 2025. 

The vaccine aids the body in identifying distinct proteins on the surface of cancer cells called antigens, which successfully target and eliminate cancer cells by inducing the production of antibodies by the immune system. The Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology described the procedure used to create the vaccine. "Building [personalised vaccinations] now takes a long time since, mathematically speaking, computing with a vaccine or customised mRNA should resemble matrix approaches."

In an interview with TASS, Alexander Gintsburg revealed, "We have enlisted the Ivannikov Institute, which will use artificial intelligence (AI) to perform this math, specifically neural network computing. These procedures should take roughly 30 to 60 minutes."