WSU researcher at forefront of groundbreaking drug

Wayne State researchers have developed a HER2 DNA vaccine that has eliminated tumors in mice, giving hope for breast cancer patients.

The HER2 DNA vaccine was tested in a WSU laboratory on tumor cells that no longer responded to other HER2-positive breast cancer treatments. The vaccine prevented the cancer from growing and was non-toxic in mice.

Approximately 20-30 percent of breast cancers make too much of the HER2 protein, which is made at low levels by normal breast cells, according to the Karmanos Cancer Institute. Tumors that make too much HER2 (called HER2-positive) tend to grow faster and are more likely to come back.

The vaccine educates the body’s immune system so that it can distinguish tumor cells from normal cells. The immune system then recognizes the HER2-positive cancer cells, helping to destroy and prevent them from spreading.

Dr. Wei-Zen Wei of the Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State’s School of Medicine, along with other researchers, has been working on several cancer-fighting vaccines since 1996 to help prevent HER2-positive breast cancer.

“Clinical studies are being done in collaboration with people in Europe,” Wei said. “There is no clinical trial in town so we don’t want to mislead the readers because a lot of patients have been calling.”

Clinical trials take many years to complete, so this vaccine will not be available anytime soon.

“Clinical trials have three phases of trials and each phase takes a few years and then you need to be reviewed by the FDA for approval to use,” Wei said. “It’s usually a 10-15 year process. It’s the normal process of any drug.”

The vaccine may not be available overnight, but it is definitely important in the fight against cancer, as the rate of new cases continues to grow.

The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 51,150 new cases in Michigan this year, with 6,120 of those being women’s breast cancer and 1.4 million new cases in the United States with 182,460 of those being women’s breast cancer.

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