This Journal Watch discusses the study “ Safety and Outcomes of a Plasmid DNA Vaccine Encoding the ERBB2 Intracellular Domain in Patients With Advanced-Stage ERBB2-Positive Breast Cancer – A Phase 1 Nonrandomized Clinical Trial, ” published in JAMA Oncology , 2023 . What was the rationale of the study? Association between favorable trastuzumab therapy outcomes with increased levels of ERBB2 (formerly known as HER2)-specific type 1 T-cells in the peripheral blood is well established in breast cancer patients.
However, only a limited number of patients develop measurable ERBB2 immunity after the treatment. Plasmid DNA vaccines designed to increase ERBB2-specific T-helper cells could help induce ERBB2 immunity in more patients. Additionally, combining it with sargramostim, a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), can further increase the number of immune cells in bone…
