A Vaccine for Breast Cancer on the Horizon?

A New Way to Treat Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Malignancies?

Aug 9, 2009

Scientists have made a discovery that could lead to development of a new vaccine for estrogen receptor negative breast cancer. Find out the full story.

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers, affecting women at all stages life even during the childbearing years. It’s estimated that up to one in eight women will experience this disease at some point in her lifetime. The cure rate for breast cancer is high and continues to rise as new treatments are developed and screening for early malignancies becomes better, but the best treatment is still prevention.

For years researchers have been trying to develop a vaccine for breast cancer prevention and treatment. Now, a group of scientists at the University of Queensland claim to have unlocked the genes that could help treat one of the most deadly forms of breast cancer - ER negative breast cancer.

What Is ER Negative Breast Cancer?

ER negative breast cancer is another name for estrogen receptor negative breast cancer. This is a type of breast cancer where the malignant cells lack receptors for the hormone estrogen on their surface that are characteristically found in ER positive breast cancers. There are fewer treatment options for estrogen receptor negative breast cancers since many of the drugs used to treat breast cancer such as Tamoxifen act by blocking these estrogen receptors which slows down growth of the cancer. Estrogen receptor negative breast cancers usually have a poorer prognosis than receptor positive cancer and spread more readily to other parts of the body. Although less common than ER positive breast cancer, this form of cancer is present in a third of all breast cancer cases and is more prevalent in younger people and African American women.

A Vaccine for Breast Cancer?

How might this new breast cancer vaccine be developed? Researchers were able to identify a group of genes known as CT-X genes that are found in more than fifty percent of ER negative breast cancers. These genes play a role in the growth and spread of the cancer to other tissues. It’s hoped that a vaccine can be created that targets this set of regulatory genes. This very same group of genes is being targeted for the development of vaccines to treat other cancers such as melanoma skin cancer and lung cancer.

Vaccine for Breast Cancer: The Bottom Line

Could this discovery lead to a new vaccine for breast cancer? More research will be needed before this vaccine becomes available, but it could hold promise for women diagnosed with this less common form of breast cancer that’s more difficult to treat.

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The copyright of the article A Vaccine for Breast Cancer on the Horizon? in Breast Health is owned by Kristie Leong. Permission to republish A Vaccine for Breast Cancer on the Horizon? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.