Breast Cancer Prevention Vaccine

A preventive vaccine against breast cancer has been developedCopper news
American scientists have developed a vaccine against breast cancer, which in an experiment on mice demonstrated a pronounced preventive effect.

Human trials of the drug are scheduled to begin no later than in two years. The research report is published in the journal Nature (Ritika Jaini et al., An autoimmune-mediated strategy for prophylactic breast cancer vaccination).

As a rule, the creation of an antitumor vaccine is complicated by the fact that the antigens of cancer cells are not foreign to the body, and their own immune system does not attack them.

Scientists from Yale and Cleveland Universities and the Lerner Research Institute, when creating the vaccine, chose the protein α-lactalbumin as an antigen, which is produced in large quantities by breast cancer cells, as well as by normal breast epithelium during breastfeeding (therefore, the drug is contraindicated during current or upcoming lactation).

During the experiment, six genetically engineered mice with a high predisposition to breast cancer were injected with a drug containing α-lactalbumin with an adjuvant (a substance that enhances the immune response). The same number of animals received a placebo.

Within 10 months after the injection, all mice from the control group developed breast cancer. In vaccinated animals, no signs of a tumor were observed.

According to the head of the study, Vincent Tuohy, it is planned to vaccinate women over the age of 40 with the new vaccine, when breastfeeding becomes unlikely and the risk of developing cancer increases. "From our point of view, breast cancer is a completely preventable disease," Tuohy said.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru31.05.2010