Researchers recently unveil that the breast cancer vaccine they have been working on have finally showed some promising results in patients suffering early-stage of the disease.
The vaccine targets the HER2 protein in breast cells that results in a slowdown in the progression of the cancer.
The basic explanation of the development of breast cancer starts in the inability of the immune system to identify and fight cell abnormalities such as what happens in cancer. As the cancer cells grow, the immune system loses further as its function becomes depressed due to the fast spread of the disease.
Another key factor in the progress of the disease is the HER2 protein that is found to be aggressively present in over 20-25% of all breast tumors. It is also discovered to be the primary cause of the aggression of the disease. Finally, it is also responsible for the poor prognosis found in late-stage breast cancer patients.
The breast cancer vaccine is being developed solely to attack specific proteins that carry the HER2. According to the Science Daily, researchers from Moffitt Cancer Care Center used dendritic cells, obtained from the patient's blood, to target the protein.
In their experiment, they found that the vaccine is safe to other healthy, non-cancer cells and effective in eliminating the ones that carry the HER2 protein.
As reported earlier, it is important for medicines, especially antibiotic drugs, to target only affected cells. This desired characteristic of a drug minimizes untoward effects or negative symptoms in patients.
The new vaccine does exactly that as it proves effective in killing only the specific cancer proteins. The great thing about it is that it uses the body's natural defense system to do the protein elimination. It re-stimulates the immune system to kill the HER2 cells.
This mechanism proves to be especially effective in early-stage cancer where the immune system is still capable of functioning.
Researchers are hopeful that with collaboration, machine learning, combined therapies, and this promising new breast cancer vaccine, patients will receive safer and more effective treatment, the Fred Hutch reports.
