Breast cancer vaccine is possible, says expert

A vaccine to prevent breast cancer is a realistic prospect, but more research is vital if it is to be achieved, according to a leading expert.

By Aislinn Simpson Last Updated: 7:54AM BST 06 Oct 2008

Professor Valerie Beral of Oxford University, who leads the Million Women's Study into the causes of the disease, said her research had already proven beyond doubt that childbirth and the act of breastfeeding prevents breast cancer.

She wants scientists to look more closely at how they could mimic the hormones associated with childbirth and rearing in a bid to stamp out the disease, instead of trying to cure it once it has developed, as is mostly the case at present.

She pointed out that while death rates have been dramatically reduced by new drugs and earlier diagnosis, the number of women developing breast cancer and having to go through traumatic surgery and chemotherapy was rising.

She said it was impossible to return to an era where all women had babies and breastfed for longer periods of time, but added: "Why aren't we thinking of mimicking the effects of childbirth?
"We don't know how this happens and nobody is doing research on it. We should be looking at hormone production during late pregnancy and lactation."

Prof Beral's Cancer Research UK-funded work as the director of the cancer epidemiology unit of Oxford University sees her use large ammounts of statistical data to establish trends in why women develop the disease.

Speaking at the National Cancer Research Institute's annual conference, she queried why the avenue of breast cancer prevention which might lead to a drug or vaccine was not being pursued.

She pointed to the example of cervical cancer, where most cases were found to be caused by the humanpapilloma virus, and the development of a vaccine which is now being given to schoolgirls aged 12 and 13.

But "fewer than a dozen people" are looking in this direction with regard to breast cancer, she said, despite the likelihood that anyone who made the breakthrough would almost certainly win the Nobel Prize.

"It is not well-funded. It is not mainstream research. Why isn't it a priority of the cancer community?" she said.

Dr Jane Cope, director of the National Cancer Research Institute, said it too wanted to boost research into prevention.

"Research into breast cancer has been a great success story, with survival rates at an all-time high," she said.

"However, the number of women diagnosed with the disease is increasing year after year.

"Preventing all types of cancer is now an exciting prospect for researchers in the UK."

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