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Baylor Research Institute Receives Grant to Develop Novel Vaccine to Treat Breast Cancer

(DALLAS, Oct. 30, 2007)-The Baylor Research Institute (BRI) has received a $300,000 grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the leader of the breast cancer movement, to fund the development of a breast cancer vaccine that uses cells from the body's own immune system to treat patients with the disease. Karolina Palucka, M.D., Ph.D., is a cancer immunologist at Baylor Institute for Immunology Research (BIIR) and the lead investigator of the study.

BIIR, a component of BRI, has made significant advances in the study of dendritic cells, immune system cells responsible for prompting the body's response against illnesses, including cancer.

"Our research has shown that dendritic cells can be mobilized to control certain cancers, by being manipulated in the laboratory and injected back into the body," says Jacques Banchereau, Ph.D., director of BIIR. "This new project aims at developing novel breast cancer vaccines."

The vaccines are produced by fusing antibodies with portions of proteins (called antigens) from breast cancer. The antibodies recognize proteins on the surface of dendritic cells that are involved in mounting an immune response.

When these fusion proteins are injected into a breast cancer patient, the antibody part of the fusion proteins will target the dendritic cells. Then the dendritic cells will take up the fusion proteins and use the breast cancer antigens to start an immune cascade that will attack the breast cancer.

"The goal of this therapy is to stimulate the immune system to destroy breast cancer tumor cells throughout the body," says Dr. Palucka. She also is appointed to the Michael A.E. Ramsay Chair for Cancer Immunology Research.

It is estimated that more than 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

Dallas-based Baylor Institute for Immunology Research is the immunology research component of Baylor Research Institute, an affiliate of Baylor Health Care System. Opened in 1996, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research brings laboratory scientists and clinicians together in an effort to increase understanding of how the immune system works. The institute is devoted to translating basic laboratory discoveries made about the immune system into effective treatments for patients. This interdisciplinary program focuses on developing new therapies to treat conditions that involve the immune system, such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and organ transplants. A major emphasis is the use of dendritic cells to modulate the immune system in beneficial ways.

More information about the Baylor Research Institute or the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, we have invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-800 I'M AWARE.