A groundbreaking clinical trial at one local hospital could help change the future of breast cancer treatment and one Long Island patient is among those helping with the research.

Stony Brook Medicine offers a clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of a tumor vaccine given to HER2-positive breast cancer patients with residual disease after preoperative chemotherapy. The vaccine, derived from a small segment of the HER2 protein, is given to activate the immune system and reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.

Christina Amitrano, of Holbrook, participates in the clinical trial. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 at 35-years-old. She went through chemo, raditation and infusions.

"My type of breast cancer, triple positive with the HER2 protein, 20 years ago, it was a death sentence," says Amitrano. "I was seemingly like a healthy person. I would have never thought that I had any sort of illness, especially cancer."

Now, she's part of a clinical trial that could pave the way for new treatment standards for breast cancer patients.

It's called the FLAMINGO-01 Phase III clinical trial. The study is testing a tumor vaccine given to HER2-positive breast cancer patients who meet certain criteria. "This particular vaccine is not for the general public to prevent breast cancer. This is more of a vaccine that's given to women who have already developed breast cancer and who are at risk for metastatic recurrence," says Dr. Jules Cohen, medical oncologist at Stony Brook Cancer Center.

Participants receive monthly injections during the first six months and then injections every six months over a three-year period.

Stony Brook Medicine is one of about 160 hospitals worldwide that participates and they're looking for people to take part in it. "It would be huge," says Cohen. "Every incremental step we can take towards curing breast cancer the better off we're doing."

Amitrano is grateful to be able to be a part of the study and possibly help change the future of treatment. "I feel lucky to have, been a patient in the time that we're in right now, and I am hopeful for the future," she says.