Jab 'teaches body to wipe out breast tumours'

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The treatment would be tailored to women with HER2-positive cancers, which account for up to 30 per cent of cases and are highly aggressive.

In tests on mice, the HER2-positive tumours were eliminated with no evidence of toxicity. Even cancers resistant to drugs targeting this type of tumour, such as Herceptin, available on the NHS, were eradicated.

Scientists have suggested giving the treatment to cancer-free women as a preventative measure.

Women who test HER2-positive are programmed to have breast tumours sensitive to a natural growth-stimulating protein. The new vaccine consists of genes encoding the HER2 protein, and causing immune systems to target HER2 with antibodies and T-cells - the body's stormtroopers.

Study leader Professor Wei-Zen Wei, from the Wayne State University in Detroit, said: "During the process, the immune system learns to attack cancer cells. When HER2-positive breast tumours were implanted in vaccinated mice, they were wiped out by the animals' primed immune systems."

The findings are published in the latest issue of the Cancer Research journal.