Research is being launched by the Cleveland Clinic for a vaccine to prevent triple-negative breast cancer!
G. Thomas Budd, M.D., the lead investigator of the study, stated, “Triple Negative breast cancer is the form of the disease for which we have the least effective treatments. Long term, we are hoping that this can be a true preventative vaccine that would be administered to cancer-free individuals to prevent them from developing this” (Wheeler, 2023). He also reported that there is a crucial need to improve treatments for triple negative breast cancer as it makes up approximately 70-80% of breast cancer tumors with mutations in the BRCA1 gene and it is twice as likely to occur in Black women (Wheeler, 2023).
The study of the vaccine is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and will be conducted on the Cleveland Clinic’s main campus to ensure safety and immune reactions of volunteers. This will be the continuation of a study conducted since 2021. The study will consist of volunteers who are cancer-free individuals at elevated risk of developing breast cancer and have also decided to undergo prophylactic mastectomy to lower their risk. The study aims to be completed by the end of this year, in 2023. Volunteers will receive a total of three vaccinations, two weeks apart, and will be closely monitored for side effects and immune response.
The vaccine is based on research led by Vincent Tuohy Ph.D. and targets a lactation protein called α-lactalbumin, found in triple-negative breast cancer patients. The goal of the vaccine would be to prepare the immune system to attack the tumor to prevent growth. When research was conducted in the laboratory with mice, it proved to be safe and effective. Therefore, researchers speculate significant results.
Link: HERE
References
Wheeler, T. (2023, February 8). Cleveland Clinic announces next step in Preventive Breast Cancer Vaccine Study. Cleveland Clinic Newsroom. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2023/02/08/cleveland-clinic-announces-next-step-in-preventive-breast-cancer-vaccine-study/