By Adriana Ermter
In our monthly column, senior writer and editor Adriana Ermter shares her personal experiences with breast cancer
Breast cancer vaccines are a buzzy topic that’s seemingly everywhere lately—from ongoing news stories about cancer research to Reddit threads and personalized Instagram posts. But what I’m most interested in knowing is if these vaccines are truly the “golden goose” every woman like me, who is dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis or the aftermath of one, is looking for: can these vaccines truly alleviate my fear by ensuring zero recurrences? To find out, I did a deep dive into the latest information and here’s what I learned.
Defining breast cancer vaccines
Breast cancer vaccines are, what I call, the future’s “transformers” of breast cancer treatment and care. Different from traditional vaccines that prevent infections, these vaccines aim to teach the body to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Which means that not only could they change the way oncologists treat existing breast cancer, but they could also prevent its return.
How they work
Right now, all cancer vaccines fall under one of two categories: prophylactic and therapeutic. Prophylactic vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, are designed to prevent cancers that arise due to viral infections. The breast cancer vaccines currently being investigated on the other hand, are primarily therapeutic and focused on stimulating the body’s immune system to identify and attack cancer cells that are already present.
According to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the goal of a breast cancer vaccine is to create a lasting immune response, like a memory, that enables your body to fend off a cancer recurrence. This is tricky though. Breast cancer has multiple subtypes, such as estrogen receptor positive (ER+), progesterone receptor positive (PR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor positive (HER2+), and triple-negative (TNBC), so a breast cancer vaccine would need to create tailored versions for each person’s specific tumor characteristics. While these are definitely the ideal vaccines of the future and the existing prototypes aren’t there yet, should they, could they do what we hope they will be able to do…well, that would be a big-deal breakthrough in personalized medicine.
Like getting your flu shot, these vaccines would be administered through an injection. The frequency and duration of each vaccination, however, would depend on the treatment protocol. Some may be given as a series of shots over several weeks, while others may require periodic booster doses to maintain their immune response. Ideally, each future vaccine would be developed to be tailored to each unique breast cancer profile. For example, the AACR states that a patient’s tumor could first be analyzed for specific proteins and/or antigens that can serve as targets. Then, a subsequent vaccine would be designed to trigger the immune system to recognize and attack the cells expressing these specific proteins and/or antigens.
Because breast cancer cells can produce abnormal proteins that healthy cells do not, some vaccines could then stimulate the body’s immune system’s T-cells (also known as T lymphocyte and thymocyte cells, which are a type of white blood cell that is developed from stem cells in your body’s bone marrow) to attack the cells expressing these abnormal proteins. Our body’s immune system is pretty great at fighting off external bacteria and viruses, but cancer cells originate from our body’s cells, so our immune system fails to recognize them as threats. While all of this drug research and development is still in process and we’re years away from fulfilment, it still inspires me to think that we could, hopefully can, have access to breast cancer vaccines in our future.
According to the National Cancer Institute in the U.S., when our body is introduced to a vaccine containing tumor-associated antigens, it can learn to identify and destroy cancer cells. Better yet, these vaccines have the potential to eliminate cancer cells that may remain dormant after initial treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation, and can provide long-term protection. Each vaccine’s precision approach not only enhances efficacy but minimizes side effects by targeting only the cancerous cells. For me and you, especially those of us with TNBC or HER2-positive breast cancers, because these vaccines could be customized to our tumor’s biology, they have the potential to become a critical part of the treatment regimen and for our overall health outcomes. If it sounds super idealistic and exciting, well, it’s because it is. We just have to wait and see what the future of medicine may bring.
Who has access
Personally, I wish I could be injected right now. I want that. The reality, however, is that breast cancer vaccines are still largely in the clinical trial phase and limited to the people participating in these studies. We are still years away from breast cancer vaccines becoming standard of care in treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted what they’re calling "breakthrough therapy" designations to certain vaccines—in particular, mRNA vaccines in combination with Keytruda for melanoma—to fast-track their development. Canada, however, will follow its own approval process, which may not share the same timelines.
What the future holds
According to a September 2024 BioSpace article, research about the versatility of cancer immunotherapies, inclusive of vaccines, may also bring new possibilities regarding therapeutic avenues. Vaccines used in combination with other immunotherapies like checkpoint inhibitors, cancer drugs and treatments, can help block proteins that prevent the immune system from attacking cancer cells, while the development of neoantigen vaccines can target mutated proteins found only on cancer cells.
As these approaches to cancer vaccines continue to be studied, researched and tested, they will ideally also become more refined and personalized. And when that happens, the reality of these potential vaccines could revolutionize how breast cancer is treated beyond conventional therapies and towards more targeted, less toxic treatments. It fills me with hope. For myself, for you and all of the women who have yet to be diagnosed.
Adriana Ermter is a multi-award-winning writer and editor. Her work can be read in Sotheby’s Insight, Living Luxe and IN Magazine, as well as online at 29Secrets.com, RethinkBreastCancer.ca and AmongMen.com. The former Beauty Director for FASHION and former Editor-in-Chief for Salon Magazine, Childview and Figure Skater Fitness magazines lives in Toronto with her two very spoiled rescue cats, Murphy and Olive. You can follow Adriana on Instagram @AdrianaErmter.
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