Prevention Vaccines

"Researchers are developing new types of cancer vaccines that prevent cancer in high-risk individuals and treat existing disease by training the immune system to recognize and attack tumor-specific targets. Vaccines play a critical role in disease prevention, with vaccines against the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human papillomavirus (HPV) already reducing the global burden of liver and cervical cancers by targeting oncogenic viruses before cancer develops. Building on these successes, researchers are now exploring the development of preventive vaccines against cancers that target genetic mutations or molecular characteristics of cancer itself (see Genetic Insights Advancing Cancer Risk Reduction and Interception).\n\nFor example, an ongoing trial is using a KRAS-targeted peptide vaccine in individuals with KRAS mutations who are at higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer (1094). Peptides—short chains of amino acids that join together to form proteins—are often used in vaccines to stimulate specific immune responses. Preventive cancer vaccines offer an advantage in the likelihood of a strong, lasting response over therapeutic vaccines (1095)Graciotti M, et al. (2025) Nat Rev Drug Discov, 24: 134.. As research in this field continues to advance, these vaccines hold great potential to reduce cancer risk, ease the burden of continuous monitoring, and reshape how we approach cancer prevention."