Immunology - seeking a vaccine
"First we need to identify the targets for our magic bullets and then we must increase our funding so we can develop a vaccine."
Dr Anthony Leathem
Against Breast Cancer is investigating the low level of natural immunity in breast cancer patients and how it can be stimulated to fight secondary spread of the disease.
Our research team believe that some patients have a natural immunity which eliminates cells dividing out of control and stops tumour formation. Such faulty cells are identified by the immune system because they bear glycans (sugars coating the outer surface of cells) which differ from those of normal cells.
Although useful blood or urine chemical markers have been isolated for a handful of cancers such as prostate and some forms of leukaemia, none has yet been found for breast cancers. Once our biochemists have identified these markers, we can start developing new antibody therapies -- the magic bullets -- which will target specific cancer glycans. Based on this work a vaccine will be developed.
