CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Clinic is seeing positive results in their preventive cancer vaccine study that could prevent the most aggressive form of breast cancer.
It's the second most common cancer in the world. The American Cancer Society predicts more than 300,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer this year.
However, at Cleveland Clinic, progress has been made in developing a vaccine for the most aggressive type.
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Erica Watson can still remember the moment she heard the news.
“I got a phone call saying that I had cancer, just like that, you have cancer,” said Watson.
Erica had been experiencing pain in her breast, so she decided to see a doctor to have it checked. In February 2022, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer.
“I was shocked. I can't see only word I could just use to describe it. Simply because i had just had a mammogram, everything was fine,” said Watson.
Triple-negative breast cancer accounts for 15% of all breast cancer cases. It is the most aggressive and lethal form, disproportionately affecting women of color. After her diagnosis, Erica's life changed quickly.
“I did chemo. I had surgery, and then I had 12 rounds of radiation or 15 rounds of radiation,” said Watson.
In an effort to prevent anyone from learning that same news, the Cleveland Clinic, in partnership with Anixa Biosciences, has been testing a preventative breast cancer vaccine.
“So ideally, we want to treat women before the cancer occurs,” said Justin Johnson, PHD and Cleveland Clinic Program manager.
The vaccine trial is almost finished with phase 1, where doctors have seen positive results.
“We have a good dose that evokes an immune response in most of the patients that we've treated so far. And to date, it's been 26 patients. About three quarters of them have had an immune response, and that means that their white blood cells are recognizing the target of the vaccine,” said Johnson.
Dr. Amit Kumar, chairman and CEO of Anixa Biosciences, says they’re also seeing the vaccine react well with an immunotherapy drug, which they’ll be testing more in phase two on patients who've been recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
“The vaccine, even with Keytruda in combination, was still creating these, what we call antigen-specific t cells, meaning their immune systems were being trained to target cancer cells,” said Kumar.
The vaccine works by targeting a lactation protein that is typically absent when a woman is not lactating but is often present in cases of triple-negative breast cancer. If cancer is detected, the vaccine will attack the specific protein where the tumor is growing.
“It would be expressed on those cells that are becoming cancer. So, the idea is nip it in the bud, and before it becomes a tumor, it's eradicated,” said Johnson.
Phase one is expected to continue until mid-summer, after which phase two can begin. Although the results have been encouraging, doctors say there is still much work to be done.
“Well, it could be a game changer again. We don't know officially if it works in preventing breast cancer or recurrence of breast cancer. We'll find out in phase two and three. So far, it's encouraging, and fingers crossed,” said Johnson.
For Watson, she’s cancer-free, and she’s optimistic, knowing there’s a possibility to prevent it in anyone else.
“So this was, and is exciting for me. I get excited for my granddaughter, you know, her generation that this will one day not be an issue for them. So, it's, it's, it's exciting, you know, it's, it's hope.,” said Watson.
But until it’s available, she encourages anyone diagnosed with cancer to keep fighting.
“If we lean more towards what my life could look like after the journey it gives us or gave me a little bit more of a reason to push forward and to keep going,” said Watson.
If all goes well in the next phases of the trial, the vaccine could be available in the next six to eight years.
The clinic adds that Johnson is a patent holder and has received equity in Anixa Biosciences, which holds the license for the vaccine technology.
