CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland Clinic announced Tuesday that researchers at its Lerner Research Institute have opened a clinical trial for a vaccine aimed to prevent breast cancer.

Triple Negative breast cancer is the most aggressive and lethal form of the disease.

The Cleveland Clinic is now testing this experimental vaccine to help destroy the cancer cells before they turn into tumors.

Dr. G. Thomas Budd, a Medical Oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic said, "WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIND OUT IN THIS PHASE ONE TRIAL IS WHAT DOSE, WE SHOULD USE IN FUTURE STUDIES, AND THAT DOSE WILL BE DETERMINED ON THE BASIS OF SIDE EFFECTS, AND THE IMMUNE RESPONSE."

so far, research has found that a single vaccination could prevent breast tumors from occurring in mouse models, while also inhibiting the growth of already existing breast tumors.

The experimental vaccine is ten years in the making and will involve 18 to 24 patients who have completed treatment for early-stage triple negative breast cancer in the past three years.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved an investigational new drug application for the vaccine