[Barbara2]

I contacted Patty from the U of Washington trials in Nov. of 2006 to see if I could be in a vaccine trial. I am stage 2b.

She told me the eligibility criterion requiring that participants be Stage III or IV is stringent, and therefore I wouldn't be eligible for the current study. Early phase studies (I and II) typically include more advanced stage patients, as the primary purpose is to look at safety and survival. She added that their later studies were likely to include earlier stages.

I had asked her also for more info about their trials. Here is what she said:

"Our vaccine is a breast cancer antigen specific vaccine (versus a cell based vaccine). DNA serves as a delivery method for the HER2/neu antigen.

The primary difference between our plasmid DNA vaccine and Windber's E75 vaccine is that ours is gene-based (in the form of DNA) and theirs is peptide-based. One of our other trials(for Stage IV patients only) includes a peptide-based vaccine. The difference between Windber's E75 vaccine and our peptide-based vaccine is that ours uses three peptides, one of which is E75. The other two peptides have also been shown to induce a strong immune response. We give all three together in the vaccinations (along with GM-CSF) because some people respond to different peptides."

I plan to call again soon to see if they have anything available yet for stage II patients.