Breast cancer vaccine developed by Australian scientists can stop disease returning

A vaccine that can prevent breast cancer returning has been developed by Australian scientists and could be on the market within five to ten years. Trials of the vaccine in 31 women have shown it slashes the rate of breast cancer returning from 60 to just 12 per cent over a 15-year period. One of the scientists behind the breakthrough, Burnet Institute Professor Ian McKenzie, hopes that one day every woman will get the vaccine to prevent breast cancer. “This is my dream. The matter is harmless, why not inject it in all young women to protect them from cancer?” he said. The revolutionary vaccine, which uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer, could also be useful in treating and preventing pancreatic, ovarian, colon and lung cancer. The team behind the discovery identified a protein called mucin 1 that is different on cancer cells than normal cells. They then developed a sugar...