COMBINATION THERAPY WITH AE37 PEPTIDE AND AN ANTIBODY THAT BINDS TO HER2/NEU PROTEIN

摘要

Provided are methods to induce and maintain a protective immunological response to a peptide of the HER2/neu oncogene, AE37, with the effect of inducing and maintaining protective or therapeutic immunity against cancer that is associated with expression of the HER2/neu protein, such as breast cancer, particularly in a patient in clinical remission. The methods comprise administering to the patient an effective amount of a vaccine composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, the AE37 peptide, and optionally an adjuvant, such as GM-CSF, in combination with an antibody that binds to the HER2/neu protein, such as trastuzumab. The methods may further comprise administering a periodic booster vaccine dose as needed due to declining AE37-specific immunity. Also provided are vaccine compositions for use in the methods.