Development of Salmonella vaccines for breast cancer and viruses

National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases

Investigators

Abstract

Cancer vaccines are considered either therapeutic (treating an existing cancer) or prophylactic (which prevent cancer from developing in healthy people). Our goal is to develop a therapeutic vaccine for breast cancer. Breast cancer metastasis, when cells from the original tumor spread to other organs, is what usually kills patients. This vaccine would simulate the immune system to discover and destroy metastatic cells. This project is a collaboration between Dr Alana Welm at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Dr Welm has several different in vivo models for metastasis in mice, including a model where human tumors can be transplanted into mice and go on to reproduce the same metastasis as seen in the patient. We are using recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccine (RASV) developed by Dr Roy Curtiss III.