Vaccine Against Breast Cancer IN TRIALS!
A recent press release discusses the possibility of a breast cancer vaccine. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized human clinical trials for the vaccine for the prevention of breast cancer, developed by Anixa Biosciences and the Cleveland Clinic, for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
Most vaccines work by exposing a person’s immune system to a mild form of a disease causing agent- such as virus or bacteria. After the initial exposure, the immune system identifies and remembers the agent and learns to attack and destroy it.
Cancer vaccines work a little differently, due to the nature of cancer itself. Cancer arises from mutations and aberration to our own cells, making them harder to detect by the immune system. Due to recent developments and more knowledge about our immune systems, scientist have found some ways around this.
The target of the breast cancer vaccine is alpha-lactalbumin. In normal circumstances, this protein is produced in the mammary glands (breasts) only during lactation. After the end of a period of lactation, this protein is no longer expressed – except until a woman develops breast cancer.
Animal studies for this vaccine show that it was able to protect against breast cancer development and stop tumour growth without causing any autoimmune reaction as a side effect.
Experts postulate that this vaccine, if given after a woman’s child-bearing years, may help prevent the occurrence of breast cancer. The immune system of vaccinated women would be able to specifically seek out and destroy cancer cells before the tumours amass.
The initial focus of this vaccine is TNBC, which is one of the most lethal forms of breast cancer. But there is hope that this technology could be extrapolated to prevent other types of breast cancer as well.
The possibility of a viable breast cancer vaccine is good news for millions of women all over the world. If this vaccine is proven successful it could allow us to target cancer cells before they emerge and without causing any harm to our healthy tissues. It shows us the possibility of a world where cancer cells never turn into a tumour.
References:
Source: Anixa Biosciences
Source Link: Introduction :: Anixa Biosciences, Inc. (ANIX)
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