A breast cancer vaccine is still far away
Reporters are over the moon this morning over word Vincent Tuohy (right) and colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic had a wildly successful mouse study on the antigen a-lactalbumin as a vaccine against breast cancer.
The antigen appears in a woman's body when she's lactating, but it also appears in most breast cancer cells. Susceptible mice given the antigen did not develop breast cancer. Mice given a placebo did.
Another exciting fact. The new vaccine could work against tumors that have already formed. It could effect a cure as well as vaccinate.
Unfortunately there is a vast distance to travel before this becomes a real vaccine.
- Many cancer treatments that work in mice don't work in people. This may be found on the initial human trial, or a subsequent, larger trial. The complexity of cancer, and the human cell, is why scientists are concentrating on combination treatments, attacking cancer from various angles with near-lethal doses of various chemicals.
- Note that this antigen appears in most breast cancer patients. Most, not all. Patients given the vaccine would also lose the desire to breast-feed, so it's mainly being considered for women over 40 or those with a compelling family history who might otherwise have their breasts removed.
- Any new treatment, or vaccine, has to overcome a possible placebo effect when tried in humans. Many treatments once thought proven, like anti-depressants for moderate depression, were found to be no better than a sugar pill. If you think you're getting better, you may be.
The real news here lies in the approach taken by Tuohy's team in creating their vaccine.
Previous cancer vaccines targeted viruses. Viruses are seen as foreign invaders by the body. This is the first cancer vaccine designed around the ingredients in healthy tissue.
So the approach can be tried in other cancers. Break down the cancers chemically, identify substances which they contain that adjacent healthy tissue does not, then use that as the heart of a preventative.
All this illustrates one of the great problems with science media. Cures are trumpeted before they're proven, mainly in order to raise money for their pursuit. But in the vast majority of instances it's false hope.
Only after two human trials, one to prove something works and one to assure something is safe, should we trumpet any cure before those who so desperately need hope.
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com