The rapid arrival of vaccines during the pandemic has saved lives and loosened the bolts of certain periods of confinement. Since then, research has intensified and now gives hope of finding a vaccine against cancer and even against heart disease.
Patrick Lagacé discusses it with Dr. Réjean Lapointe, oncologist.
According to the latter, a huge research effort due to the circumstances of the pandemic has allowed massive investments of public funds, which has helped research.
In the case of mRNA vaccines, the technology existed before 2020. For cancer vaccines, doctors are now targeting mutations in their research.
“It’s a bit like a second wave of success in immunotherapy,” explains Dr. Lapointe. We have been using the immune system, by stimulating it, to fight cancer for 10 or 12 years, which literally makes it possible to cure cancers that we thought were incurable.
For now, research is still at the laboratory stage.