http://wbztv.com/video/?id=27635@wbz.dayport.com
The following is the article associated with the interview.
Doctor Works Toward A Breast Cancer Vaccine
The Vaccine May Stop Breast Cancer From Happening Again To Survivors
Jan 9, 2007It's a constant worry for breast cancer survivors -- will the disease return?
Now, there is new research into a breast cancer vaccine and one doctor has made it her life's work.
Yvonne Paterson, a mother and medical researcher, was only 42 when she got the devastating diagnosis -- breast cancer. "I said, 'what do you mean?' I just wanted to have the comfort in my mind that it had gone and I had gotten rid of it… So I opted to have a mastectomy."
Now 20 years later, Paterson is more than a survivor, she's on the cutting edge of breast cancer research -- trying to develop a vaccine. "We've shown that we can either eliminate, eradicate all together or stop the growth of breast tumors in mice."
The vaccine would not prevent women from getting the disease. It's designed to prevent a recurrence in patients who have undergone treatments like radiation and chemotherapy.
"The idea is that it will promote survival by decreasing the risk of recurrence -- eliminating all of the residual tumor cells that conventional therapy hasn't managed to kill," said Paterson.
"Vaccines for the large part have been used to treat infectious diseases," said Dr. Eric Winer of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Winer, head of Dana Farber's Breast Oncology Center, says scientists in general have been pessimistic about cancer vaccines, but now there is a renewed interest in this research.
"With some of the new technologies it's hoped that we can apply some of what's been done in the infectious disease setting to cancer," said Winer.
The next step for Dr. Paterson is human clinical trials. If successful? "This can give them peace of mind, like the peace of mind I didn't have 20 years ago," said Paterson.
The vaccine is called Lovaxin B and is currently in pre-trial testing. The company making the vaccine is seeking FDA approval for a clinical trial.
Both Dr. Paterson and Dr. Winer admit it will take years for a breast cancer vaccine to be approved for patients -- if it is approved at all.
