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01-07-2012, 08:47 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: South East Wisconsin
Posts: 3,431
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Military's Groundbreaking Vaccine Targets Breast Cancer
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66697
Quote:
The researchers targeted the HER2/neu protein, which is expressed at varying levels in women with breast cancer, then honed in on the 60 percent of women who express the protein at low to intermediate levels. The vaccine is a mix of the E-75 peptide of the HER2 protein and an immune system stimulant.
They started with a 200-patient trial in 2001 and followed each woman for five years. Half of the women received the vaccine -- one injection a month for six months -- and the other half was the control group.
The outcome was very promising, Peoples noted. The recurrence rate among the women in the control group was 20 percent, and 10 percent among the women who received the vaccine. “We cut recurrence in half,” he said.
This success led to the next phase of testing, the colonel said, which will begin early this year and involve 700 to 1,000 patients.
Unlike the earlier phases, however, this step will be undertaken by a commercial company, Galena Biopharma, which has the resources and manpower to undertake such a large-scale test. The company will seek FDA approval and, if received, release the vaccine for public use.
This phase will take about five years to complete -- two years to enroll, then a three-year observation period, Peoples said.
“The end point is the recurrence rate after three years,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Peoples and his team will turn their attention to a multitude of other projects, many based on the same concept that made the E-75 vaccine so successful -- using the body’s own immune system to destroy cancer cells.
They’ve already taken the same vaccine and completed a trial with prostate cancer survivors. As with ovarian and lung cancer, prostate cancer also expresses the HER2 protein.
Peoples said he’s also intrigued by a successful trial they conducted on breast cancer survivors who express the HER2 protein at the highest levels, rather than the low to intermediate levels they focused on before. In this study, they combined their vaccine with the drug Herceptin.
They conducted a small trial with 60 women, Peoples said, and when they administered the vaccine and Herceptin together, the recurrence rate dropped to zero. “The preliminary data is very exciting,” he said. “But we need to wait and do larger trials.”
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01-08-2012, 04:51 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,526
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Re: Military's Groundbreaking Vaccine Targets Breast Cancer
Thanks Rich
The highlighted paragraph is very exciting. I hope soon this will progress to large scale trials. I , for one would be very interested.
Ellie
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01-08-2012, 08:17 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Sunny San Diego
Posts: 2,214
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Re: Military's Groundbreaking Vaccine Targets Breast Cancer
SandraGA & I are in Dr. People's 2nd gen vaccine trials, the AE37 & GP2.
My nurse was telling me about this trial. They are very excited to work with the lower expressors of Her2.
Reoccurence rate dropped to zero on the small trial combined with Herceptin - Wow, I think we are going to hear that other C-word more often: Cure.
__________________
Diagnosed 2007
Stage IIb Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Pagets, 3 of 15 positive nodes
Traditional Treatment: Mastectomy and Axillary Node Dissection followed by Taxotere, 6 treatments and 1 year of Herceptin, no radiation
Former Chemo Ninja "Takizi Zukuchiri"
Additional treatments:
GP2 vaccine, San Antonio Med Ctr
Prescriptive Exercise for Cancer Patients
ENERGY Study, UCSD La Jolla
Reconstruction: TRAM flap, partial loss, Revision
The content of my posts are meant for informational purposes only. The medical information is intended for general information only and should not be used in any way to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease
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01-09-2012, 09:20 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 72
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Re: Military's Groundbreaking Vaccine Targets Breast Cancer
I, too, participated in a very similar trial as Elizabeth and Sandra. I received the 2nd generation, GP2 vaccine, with Herceptin. I have a message out to my clinical trial nurse to clarify which vaccine, the E75 or the GP2, they teamed together to get that ZERO reccurence rate. I think it is probably the E75, but hoping she might tell me the GP2. Wonderful things on the horizon with the vaccines. And the great thing about them, also, is that there are very few side effects and minimal if that.
Be Well everyone.
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01-13-2012, 12:26 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 1,427
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Re: Military's Groundbreaking Vaccine Targets Breast Cancer
Yea for vaccine plus Herceptin!
I was going to post this story myself, but Rich 66 beat me to it.
My plan is to stay alive long enough to benefit from the CURE!
__________________
Amy
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4/19/11 Diagnosed invasive ductal carcinoma in left breast; 2.3 cm tumor, 1 axillary lymph node, weakly ER+, HER2+++
4/29/11 CT scan shows suspicious lesions on liver and lungs
5/17/11 liver biopsy
5/24/11 liver met confirmed--Stage IV at diagnosis
5/27/11 Begin weekly Taxol & Herceptin for 3 months (standard of care at the time of my DX)
7/18/11 Switch to weekly Abraxane & Herceptin due to Taxol allergy
8/29/11 CT scan shows no new lesions & old lesions shrinking
9/27/11 Finish Abraxane. Start Herceptin every 3 weeks. Begin taking Arimidex
10/17/11--Brain MRI--No Brain mets
12/5/11 PET scan--Almost NED
5/15/12 PET scan shows progression-breast/chest/spine (one vertebra)
5/22/12 Stop taking Arimidex; stay on Herceptin
6/11/12 Started Tykerb and Herceptin on clinical trial (w/no chemo)
9/24/12 CT scan--No new mets. Everything stable.
3/11/13 CT Scan--two small new possible mets and odd looking area in left lung getting larger.
4/2/13--Biopsy of suspicious area in lower left lung. Mets to lung confirmed.
4/30/13 Begin Kadcyla/TDM-1
8/16/13 PET scan "mixed," with some areas of increased uptake, but also some definite improvement, so I'll stay on TDM-1/Kadcyla.
11/11/13 Finally get hormone receptor results from lung biopsy of 4/2/13. My cancer is no longer ER positive.
11/13/13 PET scan mixed results again. We're calling it "stable." Problems breathing on exertion.
2/18/14 PET scan shows a new lesion and newly active lymph node in chest, other progression. Bye bye TDM-1.
2/28/14 Begin Herceptin/Perjeta every 3 weeks.
6/8/14 PET "mixed," with no new lesions, and everything but lower lungs improving. My breathing is better.
8/18/14 PET "mixed" again. Upper lungs & one spine met stable, lower lungs less FDG avid, original tumor more avid, one lymph node in mediastinum more avid.
9/1/14 Begin taking Xeloda one week on, one week off. Will also stay on Herceptin and Perjeta every three weeks.
12/11/14 PET Scan--no new lesions, and everything looks better than it did.
3/20/15 PET Scan--no new lesions, but lower lung lesions larger and a bit more avid.
4/13/15 Increasing Xeloda dose to 10 days on, one week off.
7/1/15 Scan "mixed" again, but suggests continuing progression. Stop Xeloda. Substitute Abraxane every 3 weeks starting 7/13.
10/28/15 PET scan shows dramatic improvement everywhere. All lesions except lower lungs have resolved; lower lungs noticeably improved.
12/18/15 Last Abraxane. Continue on Herceptin and Perjeta alone beginning 1/8/16.
1/27/16 PET scan shows cancer is stable.
5/11/16 PET scan shows uptake in some areas that were resolved on the last two scans.
6/3/16 Begin Kadcyla and Tykerb combination
6/5 - 6/23 Horrible diarrhea from K&T together. Got pneumonia.
7/15/16 Begin Kadcyla only every 3 weeks.
9/6/16 Begin radiation therapy on right lung lesion that caused the pneumonia.
10/3/16 Last of 12 radiation treatments to right lung.
11/4/16 Huffing and puffing, low O2, high heart rate, on tiniest bit of exertion. Diagnosed as radiation pneumonitis. Treated with Prednisone.
11/11/16 PET scan shows significant improvement to radiated part of right lung BUT a bunch of new lung lesions, and the bone met is getting worse.
11/22/16 Begin Eribulin and Herceptin. H every 3 weeks. E two weeks on, one week off.
3/6/17 Scan shows progression in lungs. Bone met a little better.
3/23/17 Lung biopsy. Tumor sampled is ER-, PR+ (5%), HER2+++. Getting Herceptin and Perjeta as a maintenance treatment.
5/31/17 Port placement
6/1/17 Start Navelbine & Tykerb
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01-13-2012, 06:18 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 72
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Re: Military's Groundbreaking Vaccine Targets Breast Cancer
I concur Mtngrl. ![Smile](http://her2support.org/vbulletin/images/smilies/smile.gif) )) If there could ever be a time to have this ugly stuff, now might be it with all of the constant discoveries being made. One or two will surely get us to the cure and stop all of this suffering and sadness.
Keeping the Faith
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01-13-2012, 07:35 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,477
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Re: Military's Groundbreaking Vaccine Targets Breast Cancer
Thanks for this post.
karen z
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