Not What You Might Think

When people hear the word “vaccine,” they often think about preventing infectious diseases like measles or the flu.

Cancer vaccines are different.

Most therapeutic cancer vaccines are designed for people who already have cancer or who are at high risk of cancer returning after treatment.

Cancer has traditionally been difficult to treat because it originates from a person’s own cells, making it harder for the immune system to recognize it as a threat.

So, think of a cancer vaccine as a “wanted poster” for your immune system.

Scientists can now analyze a patient’s tumor, identify unique markers found only on the cancer cells and then use a vaccine to teach your immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells with greater precision. 

Cancer vaccines have already demonstrated the ability to safely generate powerful immune responses in multiple cancer types including glioblastoma, breast, pancreatic, kidney, lung and others. Researchers are now working to translate those immune responses into long-term clinical benefit for more patients.

The ultimate goal is to create a durable immune response that continues protecting patients long after treatment has ended.

Several breakthroughs have converged to create unprecedented momentum in cancer vaccine research:

• Advances in DNA sequencing now allow scientists to identify the unique mutations within an individual’s tumor
• Artificial intelligence and computational biology can help predict which tumor targets are most likely to trigger an immune response
• Scientists can now create personalized vaccines tailored to the unique biology of an individual’s cancer
• Immunotherapy has shown that the immune system can produce durable anti-cancer responses
• Early clinical trials have demonstrated encouraging results across multiple cancer types

Many researchers believe we are entering a pivotal moment for cancer vaccines, similar to where immunotherapy stood a decade ago.

Personalized Kidney Cancer Vaccine Shows Remarkable Early Results

At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, PICI investigators Dr. Catherine Wu and Dr. Toni Choueiri helped lead a groundbreaking personalized cancer vaccine study in patients with high-risk kidney cancer.

Researchers created individualized vaccines using each patient’s own tumor after surgery. The study, published in Nature, is considered one of the most encouraging personalized cancer vaccine results reported to date.

The Results

• All nine patients developed a vaccine-induced anti-cancer immune response
• Vaccine-generated T cells expanded rapidly and remained detectable years later
• At nearly four years of follow-up, none of the vaccinated patients had experienced a recurrence of their kidney cancer

While larger trials are needed to confirm these findings, the study provided some of the strongest evidence to date that personalized cancer vaccines may help prevent cancer recurrence.

The People Behind the Progress

Behind every clinical trial is a patient hoping for more time, fewer side effects, and a better future.

The Parker Institute is proud to work alongside patients who have participated in cancer vaccine studies and immunotherapy trials.

Their stories demonstrate what may be possible when scientific innovation and the immune system work together.

Many researchers now believe the biggest barriers are no longer scientific discovery alone, but funding, collaboration, awareness, and the ability to move promising therapies to patients faster.

Together, we are working to combat those bottlenecks.

Read More About Our Recent Congressional Briefing

Meet the Patients (click below for gallery)

Cancer vaccines are not yet standard treatment for most cancers.

But momentum is building rapidly.

Researchers are already exploring vaccines in melanoma, breast cancer, glioblastoma, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and many other common and rare cancers. 

There are even clinical trials to determine if cancer vaccines can prevent disease in high risk populations like BRCA+ and Lynch Syndrome.

• www.clinicaltrials.gov is the place to find ALL clinical trials.  
• Ask your Oncologist what might be right for you.
• Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll keep you abreast of trials opening in our network.  
• Donate to help us support even more research.

Every breakthrough brings us closer to a future where every cancer is curable

At the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, we believe that future is within reach.