Novel Vaccine Decreases Recurrence in HER2 Positive Breast Cancer Patients
http://immuno-oncologynews.com/2014/...ncer-patients/
The GP2 vaccine was injected subcutaneously every month for the first six months, followed by four cycles of booster shots every six months thereafter, with a follow-up period of approximately three years...
Among all patients, the disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 88% among those who received the vaccine and 81% in the control group, translating in a 37% reduction in recurrence. However, if patients who did not complete the trial were excluded, the results proved higher, with a 94% DFS rate in patients receiving combination therapy versus 85% in controls, a 57% risk reduction.
According to the team, women with HER2 +3 who were administered trastuzumab (a monoclonal antibody targeting the HER2/neu receptor) before receiving the vaccine, did not experience cancer recurrence, leading researchers to hypothesize that trastuzumab may act as a primer for the vaccine, since it stimulates CD4 T cells to initiate a complex immune response.