Funded by Hooters
In patients with hormone positive breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body eventually the cancer can stop responding to hormone blocking pills and their cancer starts to grow again. In this project we will develop vaccines that eliminate breast cancer cells that no longer respond to hormone blocking pills. This will cause the remaining breast cancer cells start responding again to hormone blockers. The result of these vaccines would be that those patients with hormone positive breast cancer will have a much longer time where that the hormone blocking medication would work. The immune response would also help to kill more of the breast cancer cells. This should mean that patients will live much longer with hormone positive breast cancer that has spread. This research will be tested first in mice and then in patients with hormone positive breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.