A breast cancer vaccine may be closer to reality, according to the Cleveland Clinic, as its researchers announced some encouraging results.

At the Society for Cancer Immunotherapy in Texas earlier this month, researchers shared updated findings from a study of a new vaccine designed to target triple-negative breast cancer, according to a news release.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an extremely aggressive type breast canceraccording to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

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TNBC grows and spreads faster than less aggressive types and is more difficult to treat.

G. Thomas Budd, MD, principal investigator of the study, is pictured in the Cleveland Clinic laboratory. “The experimental vaccine represents a potential new way to fight breast cancer,” he said. (Courtesy of Cleveland Clinic)

The breast cancer vaccine that the Cleveland Clinic is studying is the first to try to prevent the development of triple-negative breast cancer, according to G. Thomas Budd, MD, principal investigator of the phase 1 study at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute.

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The vaccine uses a protein found in breast tissue that is dedicated to lactation — called α-lactalbumin — that is no longer made after a woman is past childbearing age, Budd told Fox News Digital.

“Employing a withdrawn lactation protein as a breast cancer vaccine autoantigen made sense because most breast cancers occur in women 40 years of age and older, and the vast majority of these women. no longer breastfeedhe said.

A researcher conducts an experiment related to the breast cancer vaccine in a laboratory at the Cleveland Clinic. The vaccine uses a protein found in breast tissue that is dedicated to lactation, called α-lactalbumin. (Courtesy of Cleveland Clinic)

This protein was selected because it is no longer found in detectable amounts in normal, aging breast tissue, but is expressed at high levels in more than 70 percent of triple-negative breast cancers, Budd said.

“The experimental vaccine represents a potential new way to fight breast cancer,” he said.

“It represents a paradigm shift in how we approach cancer care – focusing on prevention rather than later treatment.”

In the phase 1 study, researchers found that the experimental vaccine was “generally well tolerated and produced an immune response in most patients,” according to a press release from the Cleveland Clinic.

The team also presented the side effects of the vaccine, the highest tolerated dose and immunological effects, the release said.

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The Phase 1 study, funded by the US Department of Defense, was conducted at Cleveland Clinics’ main campus in partnership with Anixa Biosciences, Inc., a California-based biotechnology company focused on treating and preventing cancer.

It included 26 patients in three separate groups.

A pharmacy research technician demonstrates a mock preparation of the new breast cancer vaccine. (Courtesy of Cleveland Clinic)

These findings come after nearly two decades of research by the late Vincent Tuohy, PhD, of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Budd noted.

Anixa plans to launch a phase 2 study to evaluate the vaccine’s effectiveness.

“That is our hope future studies will demonstrate that the antigen-specific T-cell responses we observed translate into prevention of recurrence in triple-negative breast cancer,” Budd said.

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Dr. Fox News medical contributor Nicole Saphier called the development of breast cancer vaccines “innovative and exciting”.

“It represents a paradigm shift in how we approach cancer care — focusing on prevention rather than treatment later,” Saphier, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.

A vial of breast cancer vaccine is pictured in the laboratory. “The entire cancer community looks forward to further progress in this area as it could usher in a new era of cancer prevention strategies,” said one doctor. (Courtesy of Cleveland Clinic)

“If successful, such vaccines could significantly reduce the incidence of breast cancer, saving countless lives and reducing the emotional, physical and financial burdens associated with cancer treatment.”

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Breast cancer vaccine development it is particularly important for people at high risk, the doctor noted – “but also has the potential for wider public health benefits, helping to ease the societal and economic impact of cancer”.

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Added Saphier, “The entire cancer community looks forward to further progress in this area as it could usher in a new era of cancer prevention strategies.”