Scientists are testing a promising breast cancer vaccine

A small safety trial of a breast cancer vaccine has suggested the treatment may be safe and effective.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis developed the vaccine for breast cancer patients with high levels of mammaglobin-A, a protein found in 40 to 80 percent of breast cancers.

The results of the trial, published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, found that the 14 patients only suffered mild to moderate side effects and did not suffer from any severe reactions. Many of the patients, who all had mammaglobin-A, appeared to have slower cancer progression. The vaccine helped their immune systems destroy the protein.

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The researchers' findings show "promise" and are "very encouraging," Medical News Today reports. The researchers' next move will include larger trials of the vaccine to gauge its effectiveness.