Could a vaccine stop breast cancer before it starts? new trial launches
NCT ID NCT06218303
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 19, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This early-stage trial is testing whether a vaccine targeting the MUC1 protein, combined with hormone therapy, can help prevent ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) from becoming invasive breast cancer. Fifty women with ER-positive DCIS will receive either hormone therapy alone or hormone therapy plus the vaccine before surgery. The main goal is to see if the vaccine boosts the immune system's response against cancer cells.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- MUC1 peptide vaccine combined with Hiltonol® (an immune booster) and hormone therapy (aromatase inhibitor or SERM)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could lead to a vaccine that prevents ductal carcinoma in situ from progressing to invasive breast cancer, reducing the need for surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early phase 1 trial with only 50 participants, so it is too small to prove effectiveness. The vaccine may not trigger a strong enough immune response, and side effects are unknown.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Feb 2024
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Females, 18 years of age or older. Pre-menopausal women must use an effective method of contraception during the study. 2. Capable of providing informed consent and willing to comply with study procedures 3. Biopsy-proven ER+ DCIS * The signed pathology report from the attending pathologist will be used to determine eligibility * Sufficient amount of DCIS remaining in the diagnostic core biopsy block(s) and available for research * Patients with DCIS suspicious for microinvasion on core biopsy will be eligible because many of these patients will not have invasion on final pathology * Women presenting with concurrent bilateral DCIS are eligible only if both the right and left DCIS lesions are ER+, and tissue from both sides will be analyzed and must meet the criteria below 4. DCIS must be ≥ 1cm based on the extent of calcifications on mammogram, the presence of a mass on ultrasound or enhancement on MRI OR DCIS ≥ 5mm on one single core by pathologic evaluation OR DCIS \< 5mm if identified in ≥ 2 cores 5. Candidate for selective estrogen receptor modulator or aromatase inhibitor 6. Surgery planned as part of definitive local therapy 7. ECOG PS 0-1 8. Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.5 x 109/L 9. Platelet count ≥ 100 x 109/L 10. Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dl or ≥ 5.6 mmol/L 11. Creatinine ≤ 1.5X the upper limit of normal OR creatinine clearance ≥ 60 ml/min 12. Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5X the ULN; ≤ 2x ULN for patients with Gilbert's disease 13. AST and ALT ≤ 2.5X ULN 14. INR/PT/aPTT ≤ 1.5X ULN or within the therapeutic range if on anti-coagulation 15. If pre-menopausal, negative urine or serum pregnancy test Exclusion Criteria: 1. Invasive breast cancer \> 1mm on pathologic evaluation 2. Second malignancy within the last 5 years (definitively treated superficial non-melanoma skin cancer, melanoma in situ, cervical carcinoma in situ allowed) 3. Current hormone replacement therapy, selective estrogen receptor modulator therapy, or aromatase inhibitor therapy--if yes, wash out of 30 days must occur prior to baseline biopsy for the study 4. Recurrent ipsilateral DCIS 5. Current steroid therapy (doses for physiologic replacement in adrenal dysfunction or for contrast allergy pre-medication for contrast allergy or similar indication allowed, topical, ocular and intranasal steroids allowed) 6. Current Immunomodulator therapy (includes anti-CD20 antibodies) 7. History of autoimmune disease requiring systemic immunosuppression, or active autoimmune disease. Replacement therapy with thyroxine, insulin, and physiologic corticosteroids for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency is acceptable. 8. History of immune deficiency 9. Active infection requiring systemic therapy 10. Any medical or psychiatric condition, substance abuse disorder, medical therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might interfere with the patient's participation for the full duration of the study or compliance with the requirements of the study 11. Known active hepatitis B (hepatitis B surface antigen-reactive) or hepatitis C (hepatitis C virus RNA positive). Patients who are hepatitis B core antibody positive without hepatitis B surface antigen reactivity are eligible. Patients who have antibody for hepatitis C are eligible only if hepatitis C RNA is negative by PCR. 12. Known history of HIV (presence of HIV antibodies for HIV 1 and HIV 2) 13. Received a live vaccine within 30 days of the first dose of treatment 14. History of allergies to any component of the MUC1 vaccine or HiltonolR adjuvant 15. Participation on any investigational vaccine, drug, or device trial within the last 30 days 16. Pregnant or breastfeeding
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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UPMC Magee Womens Hospital
RECRUITINGPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213, United States
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