DETROIT (The New York Times News Service) -- As a healthy woman and advocate of annual mammograms, Cheryl Myers' breast cancer diagnosis came out of nowhere.

The 50-year-old sales associate was shocked to learn in April she had the disease in both breasts. She was even more frightened that it was a kind that produces too much of a protein called HER2, which can cause aggressive tumor growth.

"Anyone who hears the word cancer, I think it goes with the word death," said Myers, of Monroe. "Almost every day that's all I thought about, that I'm going to die." But new hope for fighting tumors like Myers' is coming from Metro Detroit just in time for the annual October onslaught of pink known as Breast Cancer Awareness month.

A scientist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit is gaining national attention for a breakthrough development that could eventually lead to a vaccine to fight HER2-positive breast cancer.

Dr. Wei-Zen Wei and a team of researchers announced recently in the medical journal Cancer Research that they've developed a DNA vaccine that has proven effective on HER2-positive breast cancer tumors in mice. The vaccine targets the protein HER2, which normal breast cells make at low levels. An estimated 20 percent to 30 percent of breast cancers produce too much of the protein--about one out of every 32 to 35 breast cancer patients, Wei said.

"Cancer vaccines, so far, have only been used in cervical cancers for HPV (Human papillomavirus )," said Wei, a researcher and professor in the department of immunology and microbiology at WSU and Karmanos. "Seeing that (the HER2 DNA vaccine) can work in our test system in a way that we believe is hopeful in patients is very positive and very encouraging for us. This could have potential.

"We scientists live on these hopes."

It is estimated that one out of eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. An estimated 182,460 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, while about 40,480 women will die of breast cancer this year, according to the National Cancer Institute. In Michigan, the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer increased from 5,372 cases in 1985 to 6,734 cases in 2004, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. Experts say, however, that the increase in new cases is likely due to more screening.

There are about 17 HER2 vaccine trials being conducted now in the United States, of which only two involve using DNA -- essentially the genetic code of the HER2 protein -- to develop a vaccine, Wei said. Wei's lab is the first to develop a HER2 DNA vaccine, which was tested on mice tumor cells that no longer responded to other therapies.

Researchers vaccinated the mice before injecting them with the cancer tumor, and the result was positive: The cancer didn't grow and wasn't toxic to the mice.

"We each have an immune system to help fight off disease," Wei said in a statement. "However, when cancer develops, the immune system can't always distinguish tumor cells from normal cells, so the full power of the immune system is not harnessed to fight the disease. This vaccine helps to educate the immune system so that it recognizes HER2-positive cancer cells, helps destroy them and prevents them from spreading."

And while Wei and her researchers say their vaccine is "promising," it could take more than a decade for it to become an FDA-approved treatment.

"It is hopeful," said Dr. Amy Weise, a member of Wei's research team. But "often times what research that's done in mice doesn't mean it's going to translate into success in humans. It makes it necessary for human trials."

The standard process for any drug or therapy is extensive, said Weise, an assistant professor of medicine in the department of hematology and oncology at WSU and Karmanos.

The first phase of a clinical trial determines if the agent -- in this case, the vaccine -- is safe; the second phase determines if it is effective in preventing cancer from progressing or results in killing tumor cells; and the third phase compares the vaccine to a standard therapy like chemotherapy, she said.

The process can take up to 12 years, Weise said.

Wei said the HER2 DNA vaccine will be provided to "academia and pharmaceutical companies" to facilitate clinical studies, which are expensive to conduct. Wei said she hasn't ruled out the possibility of conducting local clinical trials on real women, but no timeline has been set.

"It's the beginning," Wei said. "Without that you won't get anywhere, but with that you might not get your holy grail. We are doing (further studies) in all ways so the chance of getting it to people will be a lot better."

Detroit resident Louise Billings said she was proud to learn that one of her doctors -- Weise -- was working on a vaccine to help breast cancer patients like her. The 54-year-old grandmother of four was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer in March, and has undergone seven chemotherapy treatments.

"I'm glad that they are working on it," said Billings, 54.

"No one should have to go through something like this if it's preventable. I'm going to fight this. I'm going to stay here as long as I can."

Although Myers knows she won't benefit from the vaccine, she's thrilled that women diagnosed after her may be helped.

"It's another step to victory to help save lives," she said.

"I think anything is positive. To me, it's always worth trying."

Myers said she's come a long way since her diagnosis on April 18, and said much of the courage came from the support of her husband, John, who's attended every chemotherapy treatment. She's undergone four doses of chemotherapy since July, and will begin her second chemotherapy treatment on Monday . She will also receive an antibody shot every three weeks for nine months because of the HER2 protein and will undergo radiation.

"We're in it together," she said. "I feel like I've gotten so strong. Instead of counting my problems, I count my blessings."

And while she does fear her cancer will come back one day, Myers said she's focusing hard on living in the present. "I'm not going anywhere yet," she said. "Every day I have is a blessing."

Karmanos Cancer Institute

The center is located in Detroit and is one of 41 National Cancer Institute-designed comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. The Detroit facility features in-patient suites, a laboratory and a bone marrow/stem cell transplant and pheresis unit.

The institute was established in 1943 as the Detroit Institute for Cancer Research; however, Detroit's efforts to fight this disease date back to the late 1800s, which is when Harper Hospital -- the institute's inpatient facility -- was built.

Copyright 2008 The New York Times News Service. All rights reserved.