Cuba has approved what is believed to be the world’s first registered lung cancer vaccine.

Researchers at Cuba’s Center of Molecular Immunology announced this week that the therapeutic vaccine CimVax EGF extends life with few side effects.

The drug has been approved for clinical trials in the United States, but its use there is at least two years away, said Gisela Gonzalez, who headed the vaccine’s development.

It is being offered to Cuban and foreign patients in hospitals.

The vaccine — a modified protein which attacks only cancer cells — has been shown to boost survival rates by an average of four to five months, and in some cases longer, according to researchers.

It does not prevent lung cancer.

“It’s the first vaccine for lung cancer registered in the world,” said Gonzalez.

Others are currently being tested.

The drug is in various clinical trials in Great Britain and Canada, with more studies scheduled in Malaysia, Peru and China, Gonzalez said.

Advanced tests are underway with 579 lung cancer patients in Cuba. Trial results won’t be known for years.

In Peru, Carlos Vallejos, director of the National Institute of Neoplastic Diseases and a former health minister, said the Cuban vaccine needs further study.

“What is being said about this vaccine may be true but there are no qualified reports,” he said.

A consortium between Argentina and Cuba announced in February that a study of the vaccine was underway with more than 700 patients in six countries.

Tania Crombet, the research team’s director of clinical investigations, said the vaccine compliments conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy methods, extending life, improving breathing and reducing pain.

Crombet said foreigners were welcome for treatment, though its cost had not yet been set.

Cuba has used its hospitals and medical services to draw thousands of foreign patients every year.

“It’s possible to provide this vaccine to any patient,” she said. “Because it’s available in Cuba, it’s approved by the Cuban drug agency, we can receive patients from outside.”

Several companies have been licensed to market the vaccine but it will be produced in Cuba, the scientists said.