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HER2 Vaccine Shows Promise in Preliminary Testing

A vaccine designed to prompt the immune system to target a specific portion of the HER2 protein in breast cancer patients has shown some promise in preliminary research, scientists reported Thursday.

Steven Limentani, MD, of the Blumenthal Cancer Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, says that he and colleagues tested a molecule they had designed in patients with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. A total of 38 patients received a series of vaccinations in the form of injections to the leg. Among those newly diagnosed patients receiving first-line treatment for metastases, one patient had a complete response and two patients saw their disease stabilize, Dr. Limentani reported.

In a second-line treatment group, four patients saw their disease stabilize. This phase II study, along with even more preliminary research testing the molecule as an adjuvant treatment (after surgery), suggested that it did not cause serious side effects in most patients. Dr. Limentani noted that the test vaccine evoked a more powerful and sustained response in the metastatic study than in the adjuvant one. "We believe that this observed clinical activity warrants further investigation," he concluded.