A breast cancer vaccine tested on mice totally eliminated HER2-positive tumors without toxicity, according to researchers at Wayne State University. It is believed the vaccine may be effective against tumors in humans, and also may prevent development of such tumors in the first place.
HER2 receptors are found in low numbers on normal breast cells (the name is derived from “human epidermal growth factor receptor 2”). Their function is to regulate normal cell growth. HER2-positive breast cells, however, have many more receptors than usual, and promote an aggressive kind of tumor found in about 25 percent of all breast cancer patients. Current treatment for these tumors is often ineffective.
The new vaccine would help bolster a patient’s immune systems to the point that their own body could wipe out such cancers. “The immune response against HER2-positive receptors we saw in this study is powerful, and works even in tumors that are resistant to current therapies,” said study leader Wei-Zen Wei, Ph.D. “The vaccine could potentially eliminate the need to even use these therapies.”
The new vaccine is the second developed by Wei’s research group. An earlier vaccine is being used as the basis for a vaccine currently undergoing early phase human trials in the U.S. and Europe with women stricken with HER2-positive breast cancer.
© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
|
