Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
      • Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito argued abortion isn’t an economic issue. But is that true?

        Chabeli Carrazana · May 4
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • The 19th Explains: Why the nursing shortage isn’t going away anytime soon

        Mariel Padilla · September 23
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8
      • Voter ID laws stand between transgender people, women and the ballot box

        Barbara Rodriguez · October 14
      • Emily’s List expands focus on diverse candidates and voting rights ahead of midterm elections

        Errin Haines · August 30

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Female doctor holding hands of her patient in hospital room.
Black American women are about twice as likely as White American women to be diagnosed with triple-negative cancer, and about 28 percent more likely to die from it. (Photo by Getty Images)

Health

Trials begin on vaccine to prevent an aggressive breast cancer

Scientists are targeting triple-negative cancer, a form of the disease that disproportionately affects Black people and people under 40.

Candice Norwood

Breaking News Reporter

Candice Norwood headshot

Published

2021-10-27 05:06
5:06
October 27, 2021
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Researchers have launched a study of a vaccine they hope will eventually become the first to prevent triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive and deadly form of the disease. The study marks a significant step to developing a prevention option for this type of cancer, which disproportionately affects Black people and people under the age of 40.

Triple-negative breast cancer cells test negative for estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and excess HER2 protein — traits that would have made it susceptible to more targeted treatment.

Approximately 80 percent of the breast tumors that occur in women with mutations in the BRCA1 genes are triple-negative breast cancer. Black American women are about twice as likely as White American women to be diagnosed with triple-negative cancer, and about 28 percent more likely to die from it.

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

“There is a great need for improved treatments for triple negative breast cancer, which is hampered by the absence of actual treatment targets,” G. Thomas Budd, the principal investigator of the study, said Tuesday in a press call. “Despite representing only about 15 percent of all breast cancers, triple-negative breast cancers account for a disproportionate higher percentage of breast cancer deaths.”

Budd and other experts with Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute in Ohio began the phase 1 trial, which is funded by the Department of Defense and expected to be completed in September 2022. This initial study will include 18 to 24 patients who have finished treatment for early-stage triple-negative breast cancer within the past three years and are currently tumor-free but at high risk for recurrence. To recruit a racially diverse population for the study, researchers are reaching out to health care facilities in the city of Cleveland, as well as Cleveland Clinic sites located near communities of color throughout the state.

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

The vaccine targets a lactation protein expressed in the majority of triple-negative breast cancer cases, said Vincent Tuohy, the primary inventor of the vaccine and staff immunologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute. The vaccine is designed to prompt the immune system to destroy the tumor as it emerges and prevent it from growing, he added.

If the first trial is successful, it will be followed by additional research phases and FDA review. We are still years away from mass development and distribution of a triple-negative vaccine, researchers said, but they expressed optimism about the findings so far. The cancer vaccine field at this point is primarily focused on treatment vaccines — which train the body to attack cancer cells — rather than preventive ones, Tuohy said. 

  • Read Next
    A doctor administers a vaccine to a patient.
  • Read Next Could an HIV vaccine be better received by parents than Gardasil was?

He tied his thinking to what he saw with childhood immunizations. Twenty years ago, Tuohy said, “I noticed that the cancer vaccine field is focused on treatment vaccines.” In contrast, he said, “The entire childhood vaccine program that targets 16 different pathogens is a prophylactic program” focused on preventing disease from taking root.

He is hopeful that this triple-negative vaccine could be used for prevention. Previous preclinical studies showed that this vaccine strategy was safe and effective in preventing breast cancer in mice. The research found that a single vaccination not only inhibited the growth of existing breast tumors but, when given as a preventive, could also keep breast tumors from developing.

“The trick was to figure out a way to introduce the immunity against the cancer before the cancer occurs,” Tuohy said. “Otherwise, in my opinion, it’s like giving a 20-meter head start to Usain Bolt in a 100-meter sprint: you’re letting the tumor have a head start and then you’re coming in with the treatment with the vaccine.”

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Help sustain what we started

Your monthly investment is critical to our sustainability as a nonprofit newsroom.

Donate Today

Become a member

Up Next

Newborn baby sleeping in a hospital bassinet

Health

‘Delay is okay’: Austin officials condemn unnecessary surgery on intersex children

Parents and intersex advocates tell The 19th that the rush to operate and a lack of information can lead to lasting trauma for children.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram