An American woman who has battled triple-negative breast cancer since 2018 became the first recipient of a new vaccine designed to protect women against the deadliest form of breast cancer.
Jennifer “Jenni” Davis became the first human to take a vaccine that has been designed to prevent triple negative breast cancer, News 5 Cleveland reported Friday. While triple negative breast cancer only accounts for 10-15% of all breast cancers, it is a more aggressive form that offers fewer treatment options and thus gives patients a worse prognosis than other types, according to the American Cancer Society.
“It was definitely a surprise. I have no genetic history. It does not run in my family at all. I did find the lump myself, but then actually getting the diagnosis and going through everything was very difficult.” https://t.co/qOAiVmu9Wi
— News 5 Cleveland (@WEWS) April 14, 2023
After receiving her diagnosis in 2018, Davis underwent chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, 26 rounds of radiation and breast reconstruction, but the fear of relapse consistently weighed on her mind. “With triple-negative, when you’re done with treatment, that’s kind of it. There’s nothing that I take long-term. There’s no pill,” Davis told Fox 35 News. “There’s nothing I take to make sure it won’t come back.”
When she discovered there was a study being funded by the Department of Defense at the Cleveland Medical Clinic for cancer-free individuals who were at a high risk for developing breast cancer, she volunteered. In the study, participants agreed to take three doses of the experimental vaccine given at two week intervals, while being closely monitored for side effects and immune response, News 5 reported.
The vaccine has been under development for the past 20 years by a company known as Anixa BioSciences, Fox 35 reported. In the two decades scientists have studied the effects of the vaccine within animals, they have seen a 0% recurrence rate in breast cancer and have never had any instance of anaphylactic shock, the outlet reported.
“We train their immune systems to destroy these cancer cells and the cancer cells will never become a tumor,” Anixa Biosciences CEO Dr. Amit Kumar told the outlet. “Ideally, the woman will never even know this is happening in their body.”(RELATED: New Blood Test Can Reportedly Predict Cancer Before Tumors Form)
While the vaccine-study is currently focused solely on those who have been diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, there is hope that it will be able to target other types of breast cancer as well. Dr. Kumar believes the vaccine will be made available to a wider population of individuals who, like Davis, hope to prevent a relapse.
“This is going to provide women with peace of mind that they’re not going to have a recurrence and then the broader scale of not worrying about triple-negative ever again is truly amazing,” Davis told Fox 35.