Christine Amitrano, now 41, received her first injection in a clinical trial for an experimental breast cancer vaccine at Stony Brook Medicine last month.
The vaccine, being tested in the FLAMINGO-01 Phase III trial, is designed to reduce the risk of recurrence in women with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer by training the immune system to target residual tumor cells. Amitrano, who was diagnosed at 35 after an early mammogram prompted by her mother’s concern, completed two years of aggressive treatment before enrolling in the study. She does not know whether she is receiving the actual vaccine or a placebo, but she emphasized that her own treatment was made possible by past clinical trial participants.
Stony Brook Cancer Center is one of 160 global sites involved in the trial, and the only location on Long Island offering this investigational therapy. Participants receive six initial injections over six months, followed by five booster doses administered every six months thereafter. The goal is to prevent metastatic progression — the spread of cancer to bones, liver, lungs, or brain — which remains largely incurable despite advances in prolonging survival.
How the vaccine works and who qualifies
The investigational therapy is a tumor-specific vaccine tailored to individuals with HER2-positive breast cancer, a subtype accounting for about 20% of breast cancers. It aims to stimulate an immune response against the HER2 protein, which drives cancer cell growth in this form of the disease. Eligible patients must have completed standard treatment for early-stage disease and reveal no evidence of active metastasis at enrollment.
Dr. Jules Cohen, Amitrano’s oncologist at Stony Brook, noted that while treatments for metastatic breast cancer have improved, allowing longer survival with better quality of life, the disease eventually becomes fatal when it spreads to vital organs. “We’re looking for ways to try to reduce the risk of metastatic recurrence in these early stage patients,” he said. The trial builds on decades of research into cancer vaccines, though previous attempts have largely failed to show significant clinical benefit in large-scale studies.
Why early detection played a role in her case
Amitrano’s cancer was caught at stage 2 because her mother, a nurse with no knowledge of her own biological family’s medical history due to adoption, urged her to get a mammogram before the typical screening age of 40. The scan revealed a malignant lump in her left breast and a benign mass in the right. Had she waited until standard screening age, the cancer might have progressed to a more advanced stage, she said.
Most women do not begin routine mammograms until 40 unless they have elevated risk factors such as family history or genetic predisposition. Amitrano had neither, making her early detection reliant on personal vigilance rather than guideline-based screening. Her case underscores the ongoing debate about whether breast cancer screening should begin earlier for all women, particularly as rates of early-onset breast cancer rise.
What is the goal of the FLAMINGO-01 trial?
The trial aims to determine whether the vaccine reduces the risk of metastatic recurrence in patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer.
How many doses do participants receive?
Participants receive six initial injections over six months, followed by five booster doses given every six months.
