Moffitt Cancer Center researchers have discovered a promising new vaccine strategy for treating a specific type of breast cancer. The innovative approach targets human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive, estrogen receptor-negative (HER2-positive, ER-negative) breast cancer and has shown encouraging results in a recent pilot study. Published in npj Breast Cancer, the study combined the HER2-targeting dendritic cell vaccines with standard chemotherapy, demonstrating both safety and positive response rates.
The study enrolled 30 patients with stage 2 and stage 3 HER2-positive, ER-negative breast cancer who were undergoing chemotherapy before surgery to shrink the tumor. Researchers gave the HER2-directed dendritic cell vaccine before chemotherapy to determine its effects on immune response and…