Russia Announced New Vaccine to Treat Cancer — But No Trial Results

In December 2024, a claim spread on social media that Russia had announced a new vaccine to fight cancer. For example, an X account posted the rumor (archived) on Dec. 17, 2024.

The above post had amassed more than 27 million views as of this writing. More than 9,800 people had replied to it while others amplified the claim, including one user who wondered why the "legacy media" was ignoring the announcement (the post was later deleted). The claim also appeared on Reddit, Facebook and TikTok.

While it is true that a Russian researcher who depended on Russian government funding had announced a vaccine against cancer, no study results have been shared as of this writing. We could therefore not independently confirm whether the vaccine was indeed ready to distribute.

On Dec. 15, 2024, Andrey Kaprin, director of the Radiology Medical Research Center of the Russian Ministry of Health, announced an mRNA vaccine against cancer on Radio Rossiya, according to TASS, Russia's state news agency (archived). Further, Kaprin said the vaccine would be available to cancer patients for free. The vaccine reportedly works on patients with existing cancers, suppressing tumor growth and metastases. However, no results were published on the development as of this writing.

Kaprin said the vaccine had been developed with several research institutes. These included the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, the Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute and the Blokhin Cancer Research Center.

TASS previously reported on the vaccine's development on June 8, 2024, quoting Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko as saying that preclinical trials would conclude at the end of the year. Later in June, Gamaleya Center Director Alexander Gintsburg said clinical trials on humans would start in mid-2025 as preclinical trials were being carried out on mice, according to GxP News, a website that reports on the Russian pharmaceutical industry. In addition, Gintsburg told TASS in October 2024 the vaccine would rely on artificial intelligence to personalize the jab for individuals. 

However, neither Kaprin, Gintsburg, the Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute nor the Blokhin Cancer Research Center shared study results after the announcement. Therefore, Snopes could not examine the research. Furthermore, two cancer researchers, who asked to remain anonymous but specialize in immunotherapy, declined to comment in the absence of published results.

We have contacted the Russian health ministry as well as each of the research institutes involved to ask them to share the research. We will update this article if they respond.