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Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

On parle de ce vaccin thérapeutique depuis une dizaine d’années. Aujourd’hui il termine ses essais de phase I/II. Il a été administré sur un petit groupe de patientes semble-t-il avec succès, ce qui permet aux chercheurs de dire que dans 5 ans, ils disposeront d’un vaccin pour traiter les cancers du sein positifs HER2, une protéine portant le nom de Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-2 (récepteur pour les facteurs de croissance épidermiques humains). Notons que pour ces cancers il existe deux médicaments : Trastuzumab ou herceptine et Lapatinib. Le vaccin dont il est question ici doit encore subir les essais de phase 3 et 4 avant de pouvoir être éventuellement commercialisé.

Vous trouvez ci-dessous un article de Fox New Daily ainsi que des liens vers divers documents scientifiques sur les essais cliniques actuels de phase 1 et 2 en cours.

HD

Are we five years from a breast cancer vaccine?

UW scientists: Vaccine that prevents relapses could be ready in five years

Clinical trials for a breast cancer vaccine are entering their final testing phase according to doctors at the University of Washington and some researchers are now predicting a vaccine that prevents relapses in patients could be ready in five years.

This specific vaccine targets patients with Her2 breast cancer affects approximately 30% of patients and doesn’t respond well to hormone treatments.

Patients like Elizabeth Stathos however are responding well the vaccine.

« It goes in there like little Pac Men and eats it up and keeps it away. I think this is cutting edge, awesome, » Stathos said.

Patients undergo a series of shots, upwards of six injections per visit.Treatments can take up to a month to administer. Scientists create the vaccine by using remnants of a patient’s own cancer cells.

Scientists take the tumor and grind that up to make a special formulation so she (the patient) won’t have a recurrence of her cancer. Tremendous and very exciting news, » said Elizabeth Thompson, president of Susan G. Komen For The Cure.
In addition to this vaccine, doctors are working on one that could prevent breast cancer before it even develops. Dr. Disis at the University of Washington thinks that could be ready in 10 years.
« At the end of this decade, I predict we’ll see a lot of vaccines for therapies, » said Disis.
Creating cancer vaccines has been difficult because vaccines stimulate the immune-system to recognize and attack invaders. But since cancer is made of a person’s cells, triggering the body to attack what it sees as itself has been challenging.
In terms of the side effects you see with chemotherapy, vaccines don’t even come close. They’re very easy to take, » according to Dr. Disis.
Doctors say having people participate in these clinical trials are the key to getting these vaccines on the market. To find out how and where you can participate in one, contact the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance »

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Communiqué de Q13 Fox News Daily
Communiqué du Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Description scientifique de l’essai en 2008
Description clinique de l’essai en 2008