Scientists at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences move one step closer to developing a vaccine to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer. The vaccine is designed as an additional treatment for patients; it would not replace traditional treatment such as chemotherapy and radiation.

The scientists expect to start clinical trials this spring on the vaccine they hope will prevent the recurrence of breast cancer. This vaccine has been developed over the past 10 years based on what has been learned about the immune system, said Thomas Kieber-Emmons, director of basic breast cancer research at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. The first phase of the study will last four to six months. The participants (women who had breast cancer and women who’s cancer has come back) will receive 5 doses of the vaccine. After that, the vaccine will be tested on women who have had breast cancer but are in remission and considered at high risk of getting the terrible disease again.

Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer in women after skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society’s statistics, breast cancer accounts for nearly one in three cancers diagnosed in American women. The incidence of breast cancer increases dramatically after age fifty, with fifty percent of breast cancers diagnosed in women over the age of forty-five.

The six-year study and $2.9 million program was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.