this post was submitted on 06 May 2024
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[–] [email protected] 122 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (35 children)

Slight correction on that vaccine, the FDA doesn't authorize any drug for sale in the US that hasn't passed it's rigorous trials and gone through its approval process. It's currently being tested and has more trials ongoing right now. FDA will be able to approve it for sale if it passes its trials.

https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.9135

Also the word cancer vaccine kind of implies cure to some, but it's not by any means:

"MST was 10.83 months for vaccinated vs. 8.86 months for non-vaccinated. In the Phase III trial, the 5-year survival rate was 14.4% for vaccinated subjects vs. 7.9% for controls."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5346887/

So it might be a useful tool but just don't want to get hopes up unnecessarily. People who's immune system reacted to the vaccine the strongest did best, so current trials are focused on combining it with an immune checkpoint inhibitor drug to increase the immune response even more hopefully (and those drugs are already being used by themselves in cancer). These drugs block "checkpoints" in the immune system that would normally stop it from attacking things like yourself, which we kind of want it to do in cancer.

Not saying I support an embargo in Cuba, I don't, just don't want this comment to be inadvertently read as "Cuba has had the cure to lung cancer this whole time and you're not allowed to have it!" which isn't true.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (27 children)

Wow this comment really unwinds the one you replied to, so much so that the original seems in bad faith

Edit op edited, and improved their comment. You don't need to defend them, they are fine on their own

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (6 children)

Definitely wasn't bad faith and I do stand by it.

Vaccine does not mean cure. We did not have a Covid cure either. And much like the covid vaccine isn't 100% effective, neither is this. However, it is proving effective, especially in combination with other drugs and at certain stages of treatment.

Stage 4 clinical trials were concluded in Cuba in 2017. Stage 2 trials were concluded in the US in 2023. I believe, strongly, that the embargo has increased the amount of time the research has taken - cooperation is impossible during an embargo.

Even if they lift the embargo tomorrow the drug wouldn't come on the market, however it is because of the embargo that the use in treatment has taken far, far longer than it would have otherwise.

Edit: I admit I knew less about the vaccine than I thought I did (edited my comment to reflect what I have learnt)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

I agree it may have presented barriers for coordination the FDA and access to US markets. I haven't been able to dig deep into the Cuban studies, but just because something is labeled a phase 3 or phase 4 by the investigators doesn't necessarily mean it was done to the standards necessary for fda approval or in the correct context of current standard of care treatments in the US or who knows how many other issues. If it was fully ready for all markets as is and required no further investigations, and it was only the US FDA causing problems, I would expect it to have already been widely available in many other countries that don't have embargos with Cuba, like all of Europe. Currently it's only available in Cuba, Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Peru, and Paraguay.

Mostly though I didn't want someone to accidentally misread this and think it meant cure. I realize you did not say that, but it's just a common misreading I've noticed people make of the term cancer vaccines when they've been mentioned in popular media. Didn't want someone to drag their poor dying relative off to Paraguay thinking they're getting cured.

I agree the Cuban embargo is ridiculous, should be stopped, and is hurting both countries with no benefit to anyone (other than keeping a certain segment of voters in Florida happy).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

like all of Europe

While Europe does not have an embargo, up until 2016 the EU and Cuba basically had 0 relationship. The EU created "The Common Position" in 1996 which was "to encourage a process of transition to a pluralist democracy" in Cuba which the Cuba government rejected as meddling in their internal affairs.

Then in the 2000s there was a bigger spat where Cuba even started rejecting EU aid.

But since 2017 they've actually really warmed relations so this is a super good point!

Thank you for kicking off these research dives with your comments.

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