A breast cancer vaccine has shown promise in a phase 1 trial spearheaded by researchers at University of Washington's Cancer Vaccine Institute and is preparing to move to phase 2, a July 17 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center news release said.
The study, published in JAMA Oncology, gave three doses of vaccine over three months to 66 patients with stage 3 or 4 HER2-positive breast cancer. The patients were effectively cured of cancer through chemotherapy treatment prior to the vaccination. However, HER2-positive breast cancers are aggressive with a high probability of recurrence and metastasis.
After 10 years, patients who received the vaccine had a mean survival rate of 85 percent, compared with 50 percent at 4.5 years for those without. Researchers found strong immune responses in all doses of the vaccine, but the middle dose appeared to be more effective, with a sustained immune response over time.
The vaccine, developed at the Seattle-based institute and manufactured at Fred Hutch's GMP facility, is headed to phase 2 clinical trials.
Another breast cancer vaccine, created by Cleveland Clinic and designed for triple-negative breast cancer, moved out of a phase 1 trial in February.