In September 2003, Cynthia Gilman was diagnosed with stage 3a breast cancer at the age of 43. To treat her cancer, Cynthia had a double mastectomy and received six months of chemotherapy, seven weeks of radiation, and hormone therapy. The treatment eliminated all evidence of Cynthia’s breast cancer, but her oncologist said that she was at a high risk for a recurrence. 

After completing her standard treatments, Cynthia learned from a fellow breast cancer survivor about a clinical trial being conducted at a military hospital near Washington, D.C. that was in the first phase of testing a breast cancer vaccine for early stage, HER2-positive, high-risk breast cancer patients. The goal of the vaccine is to help the body’s immune system identify cancer cells, help to destroy them, and prevent them from spreading. Since her husband was a retired Marine, Cynthia was eligible to receive care at the military hospital and participate in the trial.

In June 2004, Cynthia was officially approved to participate in the trial. Her treatment consisted of one injection of the vaccine each month for six months. Two days after receiving each injection, Cynthia returned to the hospital so her doctors could examine the injection site and conduct blood work. After six months, Cynthia completed the trial. Afterwards, she agreed to participate in the clinical trial’s booster program, through which she receives one injection of the vaccine every six months.

It has now been more than five years since Cynthia was first diagnosed with breast cancer, and she continues to remain cancer free. Although Cynthia does not know if her continuing good health is due to the experimental vaccine, she is pleased that her involvement in the clinical trial may play an important part in helping to one day identify a successful breast cancer vaccine.

The trial that Cynthia participated in has just completed phase 2 testing. The company that now owns the rights to the vaccine recently announced the optimized dose and schedule, which it plans to test in the near future in a widespread phase 3 clinical trial.

Last Updated: March 31, 2009