The vaccine, developed by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is safe for patients with metastatic breast cancer and contributes to slowing down the progression of the disease. Promising preliminary results of clinical tests of the preparation, which sensitizes the immune system to common protein in tumor tissue, describes the journal “Clinical Cancer Research”.
Researchers from St. Louis have found that a protein mammaglobina-A is present almost exclusively in breast tissue. It is not clear what the role of the healthy tissue, it is known, however, that in cancer cells the level is particularly high. This is why it became the objective of the experimental vaccine.
Being able to direct vaccine mammaglobinie is of particular hopes, because this protein is common for up to 80 percent of breast cancers, but practically it is not in cells other tissues – says the first author of the paper, oncologic surgeon, professor William E. Gillanders. In theory, this gives hope to the possibility of treatment with the help of this method, a number of patients with breast cancer, with a relatively small side effects – adds. As pointed out by Gillanders, all the work, from the recognition of the significance mammoglobiny-A, through the development of the preparation, production of it, after the first tests on female patients, the researchers conducted a WU.
In the first phase, 14 patients were vaccinated with metastatic breast cancer where the tumor cells contain much mammoglobiny-A. Research has shown that the vaccine is safe in vaccinated people no relevant side effects, except for a few cases of rash and flu-like symptoms.
Although the aim of the tests was to just check whether the product is safe, studies have also shown the beneficial effects. The slowdown in the development of tumor tissue was even in patients with compromised due to progression of the disease and chemotherapy immune system.
Although weakened in these patients the immune system, we noticed the desired reaction. This raises serious hopes – says Gillanders. In half of the 14 vaccinated patients within a year after vaccination lack of progress of the disease. In the case of the control, inhibition of growth of tumor tissue was observed in every fifth patient.
Although the study included a small group of patients, scientists from WU consider the difference to be statistically significant. Intends to carry out more tests in a group of patients whose cancer was detected recently, whose immune system is still relatively strong.
No comments:
Post a Comment