title: Novel paradigm for immunotherapy of breast cancer by engaging prophylactic immunity against hepatitis B.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Immunotherapy of patients suffering from the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 overexpressing (HER-2(+)) breast cancers with the anti-HER-2 antibodies results in increase of the patients' overall survival. However, no prophylactic vaccine is available against HER-2(+) breast cancers. Although, prophylactic vaccine for human hepatitis B virus (HBV) is very effective.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The specific aim of this work was to design, synthesize, and test bio-molecules which would engage prophylactic immunity against hepatitis B virus towards killing breast cancers cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  By biomolecular engineering, we have created a novel family of biomolecules: antibody (anti-HER-2) × vaccine (HBsAg) engineered constructs (AVEC: anti-HER-2 × HBsAg). These biomolecules were utilized for redirecting, accelerating, and amplifying of the vaccination-induced, prophylactic immunity originally targeted against HBV as therapeutic immunity, newly targeted against HER-2(+) breast cancers. Treatment of the HER-2(+) breast cancer cells with AVEC: anti-HER-2 × HBsAg in blood of the patients, vaccinated with HBsAg, rapidly increased efficacy of killing of HER-2(+) breast cancer cells over that attained with the naked anti-HER-2 antibodies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Novel antibody-vaccine engineered constructs (AVEC) facilitate redirecting, accelerating, and amplifying of prophylactic, HBV vaccination-induced immunity as immunotherapy (RAAVIIT) of HER-2(+) breast cancer. We currently streamline this novel therapeutic paradigm into clinical trials of breast and other cancers.
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Biomolecular Engineering Foundation, San Francisco, CA, USA. mm@pbmef.org.|University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA. mm@pbmef.org.|National Magnetic Resonance Facility, National Institutes of Health, Madison, WI, USA. mm@pbmef.org.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malecki
authors.affiliation: Sutter Health Center, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Chelsea
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sabo
authors.affiliation: University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Afsoon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Foorohar
authors.affiliation: Bruker Corporation, Woodlands, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Xenia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tombokan
keywords: Breast cancer; Cancer; Erb-B2; HER-2; Hepatitis B; Immunotherapy; Mimotope; Trastuzumab; Vaccine