| Dr.
Czerniecki has tested with great success
a cancer vaccine for patients with early stage breast
cancer. The study, which is ongoing, sheds new light
on how vaccines can inhibit tumor growth, lessen the
severity of the disease, and prevent its recurrence.
His team investigated a potential vaccine that targets
HER-2/neu over-expression in early stage breast cancer
(DCIS). Over-expression of the HER-2/neu gene is linked
to about 50 to 60 percent of DCIS cases, and helps predict
the severity of the disease, as well as the risk of
recurrence of invasive breast cancer.
By treating dendritic cells –
specialized white blood cells that play a major role
in activating immune response – with HER-2/neu,
Dr. Czerniecki produced a vaccine he hoped would prompt
an immune response. In fact, researchers found that
nearly all patients exhibited an initial immune reaction
to the vaccine, and half showed markedly  reduced
levels of HER-2/neu expression, leading to overall improvement
in the severity of the disease.
Featured on the March 2007 cover of Cancer Research,
this study is a source of excitement and optimism in
the medical community. According to Dr. Czerniecki,
these “vaccination strategies may therefore have
potential for both the prevention and treatment of early
breast cancer.”
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