ST. LOUIS – A groundbreaking treatment has been announced for women with an extremely aggressive form of breast cancer.
Siteman Cancer Center just released the results of a clinical trial showing a new vaccine that is preventing cancer from returning. FOX 2’s Mandy Murphey talked with the doctor in charge of the study and a patient who was part of the trial.
St. Louisan Julie Kauffmann and 17 other women took part in a small clinical trial in 2018. All had been through chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery for triple-negative breast cancer. Their chances of their cancer recurring were high.
Triple-negative breast cancer gets its name because it lacks the three hormones that fuel most types of breast cancer, making it one of the hardest to treat. It is most common in African American women.
Julie decided to give it a try, and now, seven years later, she is still cancer-free.
The vaccine is unique to each patient. It is designed to attack the woman’s individual tumor and activate her own immune system in addition to the traditional standard of care, which includes chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.
Personalized treatment vaccines are the wave of the future. The Wash U vaccine is the first of its kind for breast cancer.
Dr. William Gillanders says the study is very exciting because patients do not have side effects from the treatment. It also found only 10 percent of the women in the study saw the cancer recur, compared to 30 to 50 percent of patients who normally have a recurrence without the vaccine.
Phase two of the vaccine trial is now underway at institutions across the country where they are enrolling women with triple-negative breast cancer.