THE BUZZ!
First person in the world to get the breast cancer vaccine says it’s changed her life. Here’s how it works.
First up
Human clinical trials are testing a new vaccine that could prevent the recurrence of triple-negative breast cancer, a particularly aggressive and challenging form of the disease.
The vaccine trains the immune system to recognize alpha-lactalbumin, a protein normally found only in human milk but often expressed by breast tumors, particularly triple-negative breast cancer tumors.
So far, the results of the phase I clinical trial have been promising.
The vaccine generated a strong immune response in the majority of subjects, even at the lowest dose tested.
If further clinical trials are successful, the vaccine could be available to women who have already had triple-negative breast cancer and are at risk of recurrence within five years.