JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Florida clinic may be one step closer to developing a vaccine that cures cancer.
According to First Coast News, the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville is testing a new vaccine on breast cancer patients.
“It’s supposed to stimulate a patient's own immune response so that the immune cells like t-cells would go in and attack the cancer,” Dr. Saranya Chumsri told First Coast News.
Over 12 weeks, results showed the vaccine helped Lee Mercker's body fight off cancer cells. As part of the trial Merker, who was diagnosed with DCIS stage zero cancer in March and was the first participant in the clinical trial, still underwent a mastectomy to make sure all the cancer was removed.
The vaccine was designed to be less invasive than other methods, kind of like when you get a flu or pneumonia shot. The vaccine is supposed to stimulate the patient's immune response so the immune cells are alerts to go in and attack the cancer.
Chumsri says they've got trials of all stages of cancers and reportedly have Stage 4 cancer patients showing positive results.
If you’d like to learn more about how to join a clinical trial at Mayo Clinic, call 1-855-776-0015.
