Dec. 30, 99 --Researchers are testing a new vaccine which stimulates the body's own immune system to kill cancer cells.
More than 900 women with breast cancer will participate in the study -- the largest of its kind.
Science Specialist Ed Yeates reports from one of the study sites in Salt Lake.
More than 75 worldwide sites have been selected for this final trial, including the Intermountain Hematology and Oncology Clinic here in Salt Lake.
The vaccine is called Theratope and it works on the same principal as any immunization vaccine.
Only in this case, the compound triggers the immune system to attack specific markers on the surface of cancer cells.
James Murray, M.D., Anderson Center, Houston: "IT MAY NOT WORK IN EVERY PATIENT BUT WE CERTAINLY NEED OTHER OPTIONS TO TRY BEYOND TRADITIONAL CHEMOTHERAPY."
Again, this is not chemotherapy, but an actual vaccine which will be given to women with breast cancer in a series of eight injections over six months. Unlike other experiments, the women can continue with their own traditional therapies and remain under the care of their own physician or hospital group while taking the vaccine.
This is called a phase III clinical trial. That means the vaccine has already been tested on humans in two previous studies.
Dr. Murray: "THE INITIAL STUDIES OF THERATOPE IN OVER 450 CANCER PATIENTS WERE VERY PROMISING IN THAT PATIENTS APPEARED TO HAVE IMPROVED SURVIVAL, AND THE TOXICITY WAS MINIMAL."
Women eligible for the study must have at least completed their first chemotherapy for breast cancer which has already spread to other parts of the body. Most of these patients have few treatment options left.
Researchers caution patients, saying while studies show the vaccine slows the progression of the cancer, it is not considered a cure.
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