In what could eventually become a groundbreaking discovery, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute in Ohio have developed a breast cancer vaccine that has effectively blocked breast cancer formation in genetically-engineered mice.
The research showed that the vaccine not only prevents breast cancer tumors from forming, but it also inhibits the growth of already existing tumors. The researchers want to conduct human trials within the next year, and if successful, it would be the first vaccine to prevent breast cancer.
Breast cancer affects one in eight women in the U.S. and some men too. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, each year it is estimated that nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die. Approximately 1,700 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer and 450 will die each year. It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among the U.S. women besides skin cancer.
As for the mortality rate, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, after lung cancer. The National Cancer Institute predicted that about 40,170 women in the country were expected to die from breast cancer in 2009.
In the study with genetically cancer-prone mice, the researchers at the Lerner Institute vaccinated half of the mice with a vaccine containing an antigen called alpha-lactalbumin (a-lactalbumin), a protein that is found in the majority of breast cancers but is not found in healthy women except during lactation.
The remaining half of the mice were injected with a vaccine without the antigen. None of the mice vaccinated with the antigen developed breast cancer, while those vaccinated without the antigen did develop cancer.
Cells in our bodies have a replacement mechanism, whereby healthy new cells constantly replace old ones in a particular order. The growth and health of these new cells is regulated by genes that are present in the nucleus of each cell. Abnormal changes, or mutations, in these genes typically result in cancer. These changes could influence the cell's ability to keep dividing without control and also produce more such cells, thereby forming a tumor.
A tumor can be non-dangerous to health (benign) or dangerous (malignant). These malignant tumors are cancerous, and if left unchecked can eventually spread beyond the original site to other parts of the body. When such a malignant tumor develops from the cells in the breast, it is commonly termed a breast cancer.
According to Vincent Tuohy, Ph.D., the vaccine study's principal investigator and an immunologist in the Lerner Research Institute's Immunology Department, "the key is to find a target within the tumor that is not typically found in a healthy person."
The researchers selected such a target vaccine autoantigen in a-lactalbumin, which directly targets the cancer formation rather than targeting the viruses after the cancer is fully established.
"Most attempts at cancer vaccines have targeted viruses, or cancers that have already developed -- Dr. Tuohy is not a breast cancer researcher, he's an immunologist, so his approach is completely different — attacking the tumor before it can develop. It's a simple concept, yet one that has not been explored until now," said Joseph Crowe, M.D., Director of the Breast Center at the Cleveland Clinic.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two cancer-prevention vaccines so far: a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for cervical cancer known as Gardasil, manufactured by Merck & Company, and a Hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine for liver cancer. These vaccines target viruses, not the cancer formation.
A woman's risk of breast cancer is almost double if she has a very close relative (mother, father, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed positive. But, only 5-10% of the cancers are due to inherited abnormality.
Breastcancer.org, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information about breast cancer, states that about 90% of breast cancers are due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of aging process and lifestyle in general.
Half of all women diagnosed with breast cancer are above age 65, and lifestyle related risk factors include obesity, lack of physical activity, high-fat diets, alcohol intake, etc.
Early menstruation or late menopause, having first child at an older age or not having given birth, or taking birth control pills for more than ten years before age 35 are also among the risk factors. Medical-related risk factors include dense breast tissue, radiation therapy to the breast area in the past, a history of hormone treatments, gene changes, etc.
The researchers' strategy is to vaccinate women over 40 years of age, when breast cancer risk begins to increase and pregnancy becomes less likely. For younger women with higher risk, the vaccine, according to the researchers, may be an option to consider instead of prophylactic radical mastectomy, a medical procedure carried out to remove the affected breast.
As is the case with any new drug development, it could take several years before this vaccine can be tested fully for safety and efficacy, as more larger scale trials need to be performed.
Dr. Tuohy said, "We believe that this vaccine will someday be used to prevent breast cancer in adult women in the same way that vaccines prevent polio and measles in children. -- If it works in humans the way it works in mice, this will be monumental. We could eliminate breast cancer."
On a positive note, breast cancer death rates have been slowing since 1990 presumably due to earlier detection, treatment advances, and increased awareness. Eating a balanced diet, limiting alcohol, and exercising regularly could slow down the rate further.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.