A vaccine being tested by University of Pittsburgh researchers could one day prevent some breast cancers before they become invasive \u2014 potentially stopping the disease before it truly starts.<\/p>\n
The experimental vaccine builds on decades of research by Pitt cancer researcher Dr. Olivera Finn, whose work identifying a molecule associated with cancer has led to a new trial testing whether the immune system can be trained to intercept breast cancer at its earliest stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile people consider (cancer) very different than other diseases that affect us, it\u2019s not that different. The immune system notices that something is wrong and tries to protect,\u201d Finn said. \u201cThe best way for the immune system to protect us from something is to be prepared ahead of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The American Cancer Society predicts that, in 2026, nearly 322,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, with more than 42,000 women dying from the disease. Fortunately, more than 60,500 cases will be caught early during the noninvasive
\nStage 0, also known as ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe moonshot project here is that \u2014 if we can continue to prove the work that we\u2019re using on principle right now \u2014 the hope is that we can one day develop a vaccination that prevents cancer,\u201d said the study\u2019s principal investigator, Dr. Emilia Diego, division chief for breast surgery at UPMC.<\/p>\n
In the 1990s, cancer research pioneer Dr. Olivera Finn, who is spearheading this particular study, first identified the MUC1 molecule as a unique feature of cancer that induces an immune response from the human body once recognized \u2014 an antigen, like the spike of the covid-19 virus. While Finn\u2019s research later found established cancer is able to suppress that immune response, with further study her vaccine could one day prove enough of a boon to the immune system to defeat a significant portion of the 20% of breast cancers<\/a> the National Breast Cancer Foundation says are caught in the precancerous Stage 0 \u2014 before they have the chance to get started \u2014 without surgery.<\/p>\n She compared the role of a potential cancer vaccine to those used to combat viruses.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you get a vaccine, your immune system is ready to see that virus. And as soon as it sees it, it can prevent the spread of the infection and you get better right away,\u201d Finn said. \u201cWith cancer, if we learn \u2014 and we have learned a lot about what the immune system sees on cancers that it considers different, foreign and dangerous \u2014 then we can prepare the immune system with a vaccine to be ready.<\/p>\n \u201cThe immune system can come to the site right away, recognize these cells and kill them as if they were virus-infected cells.\u201d<\/p>\n Time is of the essence<\/p>\n Timing, Finn said, is everything when it comes to the third year of her current window trial<\/a>, which has so far enlisted 40 women with Stage 0 breast cancer out of its target of 50. As part of the trial, each woman receives the MUC1 vaccine via three shots over 12 weeks or a placebo, then has the problematic tissue surgically removed as is standard.<\/p>\n \u201cNone of those very highly immunosuppressive effects of cancer exist in these patients,\u201d said Finn. \u201cSo it seems like a very good opportunity to get the immune system revved up right now, before the growth of these abnormal cells can suppress it.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite breast cancer deaths declining by 44% from 1989 to 2024 in the U.S., according to the American Association for Cancer Research, the ACS predicts that overall cancer cases are expected to increase by 67% worldwide from 2024 to 2050 based on population growth and aging. Meanwhile, several recent studies<\/a> and a report from ACS<\/a> have shown cancer incidence, including breast cancer, rising in young people.<\/p>\n \u201cJust therapy is not going to solve the problem,\u201d Finn said. \u201cWe really need to do both therapy for those we don\u2019t save (with a vaccine) and a lot of prevention. And prevention doesn\u2019t mean that nobody\u2019s going to be diagnosed with cancer. It just means that many fewer people will be diagnosed with cancer, and so we just want to lower the risk of every cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n Massive potential<\/p>\n While no complete results from the trial have been released, it has been encouraging, according to those behind it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe vaccination does, in fact, have an effect on the system of the person who\u2019s receiving it,\u201d echoed Diego. \u201cWe\u2019re not just looking at whether a person has actually developed antibodies against the vaccination. We\u2019re also looking at the tumor microenvironment, which means we\u2019re looking at the tissue of the person who received the vaccination and had an operation not only to see did the body actually create antibodies, but did these antibodies actually start attacking the cancer in the breast before we removed it? There are also some very positive signals there.\u201d<\/p>\n Results from previously completed studies have also been promising. Data published in 2023 showed that, in vaccinated individuals with polyps, a colon cancer precursor, researchers saw a 38% reduction in expected polyp recurrence 1 to 3 years after removal. <\/p>\n It remains unclear how long the vaccine might grant protection, but there are scientific indications.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that (the vaccine) lasts as long as we\u2019ve been able to test it,\u201d said Finn. \u201cWe know that, if we generate a response with the first three shots, that we can boost at six months and at a year. We haven\u2019t done a 10-year booster, but the way the immune system works, if you have a memory at one year, you probably have an immune memory at 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n