Brazil to start clinical test on vaccine against esophagus cancer

2008-06-14 23:56:52 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

 RIO DE JANEIRO, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian lab Eurofarma said Wednesday it will carry out clinical tests of a biological vaccine developed in Cuba against esophagus cancer.

    The project of the lab, the fifth biggest in Brazil, will be supported by the Brazilian National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES).

    The BNDES announced Wednesday that it has approved a credit of 2.2 million reais (about 1.3 million U.S. dollars) to fund the project. If the results of clinical test is satisfactory, the vaccine will be produced in Brazil.

    Eurofarma will contribute 1.3 million more dollars to prove the efficiency of the medicine that combats esophagus cancer.

    It is also being tested in treatments on head, neck, brain and lung malignant tumors.

    The vaccine, Nimotuzumabe, is a monoclonal antibody developed from biological molecules by the Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM) in Havana, Cuba,

    It is synthesized protein that acts over structures of specific proteins of the surface of tumor cells.

    The medicine complements treatments against cancer like chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

    The tests made till now with vaccine in Cuba have proved that the medicine has the same clinical benefits with other drugs used against cancer but without producing collateral effects.

    The esophagus cancer is the ninth most common cancer in the world, and also one of the most aggressive. In Brazil, it has an incidence of 8.64 for 1,000 inhabitants among men and 2.74 among women.

    According to the BNDES, between 30 and 40 percent of the patients with head and neck cancer could benefit from Nimotuzumabe therapy.

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