(CLEVELAND CLINIC) - A vaccine designed to prevent breast cancer is moving into the next phase of study. Cleveland Clinic researchers will soon begin enrolling people to take part in the initial stage.
Dr. Thomas Budd says one part of the phase will study the vaccine in people who have had and been treated for triple-negative breast cancer but are at risk for recurrence. Another part will be open to individuals who have never had breast cancer, but are at high risk due to genetics and are planning to have a preventive mastectomy. In this group, Dr. Budd says researchers will continue to evaluate the safety, fine-tune dosage, monitor immune response through blood tests, and also look for side effects. He says the research is coming along, but it'll be years before they know if the vaccine works.
"The ultimate goal of this research trial is to develop a vaccine that could prevent breast cancer in people who are at risk. It's a lofty goal, but that would be what we would hope for. There are a lot of steps to go through before that. There are a lot of ways. This may not work, but you know it's one of those journeys of 1,000 steps that has to start. So we're taking the first steps," said Dr. Thomas Budd, Cleveland Clinic.
Researchers expect to have results from this early phase of research by the end of 2023.
