On the way home from my last visit
 

I'm hanging out at the airport waiting for my last flight home from participating in the AE37/GP2 vaccine.

It is a bittersweet day. I will miss visiting my wonderful nurses, but I am happy I got to be in the trial.

Now it is back to real life and followup. I think the best part of this clinical trial is that I didn't have to wait it out after Herceptin, I got to do something active to help prevent cancer, and to advance cancer research.

I'm just one little person, but I got to participate in moving treatment beyond chemotherapy. And that ladies makes all the travel, itchies, headaches and fatigue totally worth it.

Re: On the way home from my last visit
 

I am happy for you. Feeling like we are participating in our own health care is the best feeling.

Re: On the way home from my last visit
 

Fantastic 'Lisbeth, a big thank you to you for doing all you have, for all of us.

Dawn

Re: On the way home from my last visit
 

Thanks, Elizabeth, for participating in the trial.

Looks like they might be just looking into the dosing information...

Expert Rev Vaccines. 2011 Feb;10(2):201-10.
Comparison of different HER2/neu vaccines in adjuvant breast cancer trials: implications for dosing of peptide vaccines.

Benavides LC, Sears AK, Gates JD, Clifton GT, Clive KS, Carmichael MG, Holmes JP, Mittendorf EA, Ponniah S, Peoples GE.
Source

Department of Surgery, General Surgery Service, Brooke Army Medical Center, 3851 Roger Brooke Drive, Ft. Sam, Houston, TX 78234, USA.

Abstract

We have performed multiple adjuvant clinical trials using immunogenic peptides from the HER2/neu protein (AE37/E75/GP2) plus (GM-CSF) given intradermally to breast cancer patients. Four trials were performed with similar dose-escalation design with increasing doses of peptide (AE37/E75/GP2) and varying amounts of GM-CSF. Dose reductions (DRs) were made for significant local and/or systemic toxicity by decreasing GM-CSF for subsequent inoculations. Ex vivo and in vivo immunologic responses were used to compare groups. Of 132 patients, 39 required DR (30 for robust local reactions [DR-L]). DR patients, particularly DR-L, had greater immune responses both ex vivo and in vivo. Postvaccine delayed-type hypersensitivity in DR-L patients compared with all others was larger for E75 (p = 0.001), AE37 (p = 0.077) and GP2 (p = 0.076). All three peptide vaccines were safe and well-tolerated. These findings have led to a clinically relevant optimal vaccine dosing strategy, which may be applicable to other peptide-based cancer vaccines.

Re: On the way home from my last visit
 

Thank you Jackie for posting this. I had a dose reduction due to a strong local reaction. I suppose I must be one of the 30. I hope this is a good thing!

Re: On the way home from my last visit
 

I am very proud of you 'lizbeth! You have been a great "trial buddy." I appreciate all the support you have given me. I get my last booster some time in September.

Re: On the way home from my last visit
 

'lizabeth is participating in the AE37/GP2 vaccine trial.