A breast cancer vaccine was successfully tested on laboratory animals, which brings hope that women might one day be cured with the same vaccine. The study author Dr. Wei-Zen Wei, a professor of immunology and microbiology at the Karmanos Cancer Center at Wayne State University says that the results are striking indeed. The result has been published in the September 15 issue of Cancer Research. this vaccine targets the HHER2 –positive tumor cells. These are normally treatment resistant and very troublesome.
Excess of HER2 receptors leads to extra growth of cells which in turn can an aggressive growth and a tumor. These are stubborn tumors and even therapies like Herceptin do not seem to work. After a short spell they become ineffective. Wei in her vaccine included naked genes which n produce the HER2 cells and along with that injected an immune system stimulant. The vaccine was injected in the leg muscles . later a dose of HER@ positive tumors were given It was found that a whole lot of genes were produced which activated the immune system. According to her “the body is making in this one location a lot of HER2,” Dr. Minetta Liu, director of translational breast cancer research at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. says” This [vaccine] is a little unique,” she said. “It may help restore drug sensitivity to tumor cells.” Of the research, she said: “It’s valuable research, potentially groundbreaking.”
Much more research is needed acc to Dr Liu but it is a breakthrough!
