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Rebecca Voelker

JAMA. 2000;284:430.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The first clinical trial of a vaccine for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer opened this month at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The vaccine is made by coupling dendritic cells with fragments of HER2/Neu protein found on breast cancer cells in an attempt to boost the response of T lymphocytes to kill cancer cells. HER2/Neu protein is present in tumors of about one third of women with breast cancer. Treatment in the trial consists of three 30-minute infusions given 3 weeks apart. Researchers plan to enroll 25 patients, and they anticipate the trial will take 2 years to complete. Patients are being randomized to receive dendritic cells coupled to the engineered HER2/Neu fragment or a fragment of the normal protein. Clinical efficacy in the study is being defined as a 25% shrinkage in established tumors.

Researchers hope the vaccine will offer women . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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