"We've reached a turning point," says Dr. Nora Dis, an oncologist on the cusp of the biggest breakthrough of her 30-year career - a breast cancer vaccine.
Over the next decade, vaccines will be used as part of standard cancer treatment, believes Dr. Dees, director of the Cancer Vaccine Institute at the University of Washington in the United States (USA).
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in many countries.
According to the current estimate of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, one in twenty women in the world will develop cancer during their lifetime.
However, there is hope.
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation states that there are currently more than 50 active breast cancer vaccine trials worldwide, using a variety of approaches.
Five of these trials are already in advanced stages.
In the last 18 months, tremendous progress has been made in vaccine development.
This is the result of advances in the field of immunotherapy - a revolutionary treatment that activates the patient's immune system to fight disease, as well as the development of artificial intelligence that can analyze tens of thousands of data sets of oncology patients.
The possible effect of vaccines in practice is demonstrated by the example of actress Victoria Ekanoye, who was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in her thirties - an early form of breast cancer that arises within the milk ducts of the breast.
“It has a huge impact on your business, social and family life.
"Everything turns upside down," she says.
"If we could prevent this with a vaccine, it would be truly amazing."
Her treatment was particularly difficult because she also suffers from sickle cell anemia, which required blood transfusions during surgeries.
But early detection and timely treatment helped her.
Watch the video: 12 symptoms of breast cancer
How do cancer vaccines work?
Scientists have been trying to develop vaccines to treat and prevent cancer for decades, but without much success.
Vaccines against diseases such as measles or meningitis work by helping the body produce antibodies to protect against viruses or bacteria that attack it.
This is much more difficult with cancer because it arises from the body's own cells.
That's why most cancer vaccines are "custom-made" and the "ingredients" are adapted to each individual patient and the unique genetic profile of the tumor.
These vaccines teach the body to produce proteins or antibodies that attack markers or antigens that are present only on those cancer cells.
What research is currently being conducted?
A pioneer in certain areas of research is Dr. Nora Dis, who works closely with the Cancer Vaccine Coalition, an American consortium that accelerates the development of the most promising vaccines.
Dr. Dis is leading multiple projects, including an expansion of the clinical trial of the WOKVAC vaccine being developed at the University of Washington.
This vaccine targets the HER2 protein that usually drives the rapid growth of breast cancer cells.
In this trial, the vaccine is given alongside chemotherapy and other therapies to patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, which accounts for about a third of all cases, before surgery to remove the tumor.
"We are finally at the point where we will have cancer vaccines approved for clinical use in the near future," says Dr. Dis.
In August, the first phase of clinical trials of a vaccine developed by the biotechnology company Anixa Biosciences and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA, was completed.
This peptide-based vaccine targets the protein alpha-lactalbumin, which is found in human milk and is linked to aggressive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), one of the deadliest forms of the disease.
Watch the video: What a breast exam looks like
"We introduce a protein into the body that is characteristic of breast cancer cells and teach the body to attack those cells," explains Dr. Anil Kumar from the company. Anixa Biosciences.
Scientists want to determine whether the vaccine can reduce the size of tumors, which would allow for less invasive surgeries or even make them unnecessary, as well as whether it can significantly reduce the risk of tumors recurring.
The vaccine is being tested on patients who have survived TNBC, as well as on women whose biopsies showed mutations that indicate precancerous changes.
In more than 70 percent of these women, the immune system recognized and attacked breast cancer cells, the study results showed.
Dr. G. Thomas Budd of the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute says preliminary results show that patients are "well-tolerated" by the vaccine and that side effects are minimal.
The second phase of clinical trials will begin in early 2026 and will include a control group that will not receive the vaccine, which will allow scientists to determine its effectiveness.
Dr Kumar hopes that one day the vaccine could be given to women, and some men, who do not have cancer to "prevent the onset of the disease".
The third phase of the trial will be conducted on hundreds to thousands of patients in many hospitals, when the new therapy will be compared with the currently best available treatment methods.
After that stage, it could be several more years before a vaccine is approved for use, although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has introduced measures to expedite approval procedures for certain diseases, including cancer.
"This is like winning the lottery," says Diana Ines, who received the breast cancer vaccine and has been in remission for three years.
At the age of 39, she noticed a lump in her breast while putting her two-year-old daughter to sleep and was soon diagnosed with stage three triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
The treatment lasted for months, was exhausting, and included radical surgery, radiotherapy, and 16 cycles of chemotherapy, including three cycles of the strongest chemotherapy known as the "red devil," named for its color and extreme toxicity.
She was then told that she could be a candidate for participation in a clinical trial of a breast cancer vaccine.
She was skeptical at first, but once she got all the information, she was happy.
"I sincerely believe this is the next great scientific breakthrough," he says.
Watch the video: Five things you need to know about breast cancer
Who will have access to a personalized vaccine?
Although there is great optimism about the potential of personalized vaccines, it is still too early to talk about it.
They are supposed to provide highly targeted treatment, but are very expensive due to the complex production process.
The long-term goal of pharmaceutical companies is to develop vaccines that are "finished products" and that work in a large number of patients by targeting common tumor markers.
The chances of surviving breast cancer still depend significantly on where in the world the patient lives.
In high-income countries, 83 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer survive, while in low-income countries, which include almost all of southern Africa, more than half of women with the same diagnosis die.
Some oncologists fear that modern technologies, such as vaccines, will never be available to the large number of women who need them.
There are already huge disparities between those who have access to even basic treatments, such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and those who do not, says Dr Isabel Sorjomataram, deputy head of the Cancer Surveillance Department at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
"The situation is even more complex in terms of access to sophisticated, personalized cancer therapies," she adds.
According to a February report by the IARC, the number of breast cancer cases worldwide is expected to increase by 38 percent by 2050, and the number of deaths annually is expected to jump by as much as 68 percent.
"Every minute, four women worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer and one woman dies from the disease, and these statistics are getting worse," said Dr. Joan Kim, author of the report and a scientist at IARC.
Victoria can't wait for the vaccine to be administered.
She leads a campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer among black women.
"There are still communities where breast cancer is almost never talked about," she says.
"There is guilt and shame - guilt over the loss of identity."
"It's such a powerful and poignant feeling."
Diana still thinks about the possibility of the cancer returning, especially now that she is approaching her fifth year of remission.
"But this is not science fiction, we are in the second phase of clinical trials."
"I'm here today as living proof," she says.
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