Updates on vaccine trials for HER2-positive?
Meet the Experts
Hope S. Rugo, M.D. is a clinical professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she directs the Breast Oncology Clinical Trials Program.
Jennifer Armstrong, M.D. is a breast cancer oncologist at Paoli Hematology-Oncology Associates in Paoli, Pa., with a special interest in physicians' communication skills.
Question from NitaZ: Do you have any information about the ongoing clinical trial for the past five years that is using a vaccine to stop recurrence of HER2-positive breast cancer? You must have a HLA-2A blood type for this vaccine to work. I heard that the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center in Pennsylvania is running this trial. Thank you.
- Answers —Hope Rugo, M.D.: There are a number of vaccine trials going on. Many of these trials are focusing on patients who have either specific kinds of breast cancer, like HER2-positive breast cancer and/or patients who have an immune type that can be used to target the vaccine, like HLA-2A. To date, there are not any efficacy results from these studies. It would be reasonable for a patient with a very high risk or with advanced breast cancer to consider participating in one of these trials. Overall, vaccine studies to date have been disappointing in the treatment of cancer, but it may be that by better understanding the immune response, we will improve these results.
- Jennifer Armstrong, M.D.: Dr. Rugo's points are quite well made. For anyone interested in how to access trials anywhere in the country, there is an excellent website at NCI.
- Hope Rugo, M.D.: This is a very important resource for patients - www.cancer.gov. The clinical trials home page is www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials That website also has information about cancer and clinical trials in general. One other helpful website is the National Comprehensive Cancer Network at www.nccn.org.
On Wednesday, June 15, 2005 our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Updates from the 2005 ASCO Annual Meeting. Hope Rugo, M.D. and moderator Jennifer Armstrong, M.D. answered your questions on the latest research advances presented at the 2005 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Orlando, FL.
The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.
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