Friends,
I wanted to chime in to say that I participated in the Walter Reed/Windber E75 trial (a six month trial I completed two years ago; I am now receiving a booster once every six months). The very preliminary results of this Phase 1/Phase 2 trial were announced in San Antonio this past November. I happened to be there and was asked to participate in a news conference. Here is a link to the article so that you can learn more about the vaccine (and yes, I am the "Cynthia" in the article):
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/inde...e-analysis.xml
As you will see in the article, they plan to roll out a multi-institute phase 3 trial in the near future. I understand that it may include different peptides other than just the E75, though I am not certain about that. I also understand that this trial is a bit different than U of W in that it requires that you be NED to participate. The theory is that the vaccine may have a better chance of working when cancer is only active on the microscopic level rather than in a detectable tumor form (the idea being that the vaccine may be able to beat back small cancer cells but not an active tumor).
This trial is tricky because it is more easily available to military and military dependents. The Windber, PA site is for civilians. You can learn more about Windber by going to the clinical trials page of this great forum. I will past information from the Windber website below. The contact person there is Maureen Pavlik (her email is referenced below).
All the best,
Cynthia
The Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center is currently collecting and storing breast cancer tissue samples for anonymous analysis, and is enrolling eligible civilians from across the country in one of two clinical trials.
Clinical Trial E75 Breast Cancer Vaccine
The purposes of the study are: (1) To test the development of an anti-cancer vaccine called E75 which may hold promise as a preventive therapy for patients at risk for breast cancer or recurrence of breast cancer; (2) To determine the best dose and number of shots of the vaccine; (3) To learn more about the side effects of the vaccine and how it affects the immune system.
To be eligible for one of two trials, an individual must have:
- been diagnosed with breast cancer with or without lymph node involvement
- tumor that expresses Her2neu in node positive trial only
- completed standard surgical and medical or radiation treatment
- no current evidence of disease
- no autoimmune disorders
- no involvement with other breast cancer clinical trials
- a screening process with the vaccine nurse for additional blood testing criteria
The trials are conducted at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Windber Medical Center for civilians. Active participation requires monthly clinic visits for up to six months, and telephonic monitoring for five years. For further information, please call the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center at (814) 467-0044 or toll-free (866) 253-4703 and ask for the vaccine nurse.
Principal Investigators
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MAJ Matthew Hueman, MD
Department of Surgery
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20307-5001
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Dianna Craig, MD
Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center
Windber Medical Center
600 Somerset Avenue
Windber, PA 15963
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Through the efforts of the Windber Research Institute, world-class scientists are now working closely with the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center to track and identify those 'markers' in an individual's blood that may predispose her to breast cancer. Tissue banking and microarray technology are being carried out in the Windber Research Institute; these advances in research and molecular biology enable our scientists to store and study thousands of samples of tissue which may help facilitate the understanding of breast cancer. And understanding a disease is often the first step in conquering it.
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For More Information:
Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center
of Windber Medical Center
Windber Medical Center
600 Somerset Avenue,
Windber PA 15963
Tel: (814) 467-0044
Toll Free: (866) 253-4703
Fax: (814) 467-0725
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• Diane Pringle, RN, MSN: Executive Director, (E-mail: dpringl@conemaugh.org)
• Marian Bellack, RN, BSN: Case Manager (E-mail: mbellac@conemaugh.org)
• Maureen Pavlik, RN, BS, CCM: Vaccine Case Manager (E-mail: mpavlik@conemaugh.org)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>