For women who’ve lived with the fear of breast cancer hanging over them, this could be the beginning of something incredible. A new breast cancer vaccine has just completed its first phase of human trials, and it can be a breakthrough in the field of oncology. With more and more public figures like Hina Khan and Tahira Kashyap opening up about their battles with breast cancer, awareness around early detection and prevention is stronger than ever. Now, this new breast cancer vaccine is taking that conversation further in 2025.

Related: Here’s What Every Woman Should Know About Breast Cancer

What is the new breast cancer vaccine?

Scientists from Anixa Biosciences, a biotechnology company, in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic, have developed a vaccine aimed at preventing triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), the most aggressive and hard-to-treat type of breast cancer. It doesn’t respond to hormonal therapy or drugs that target HER2 receptors, which makes it particularly tough to beat. “The vaccine is designed to mobilise the patient’s immune system to find, recognise, and destroy breast cancer cells for primary prevention,” said CEO of Anixa Biosciences, Amit Kumar.

TNBC is called “triple-negative” because it lacks three types of receptors that are commonly found in breast cancers: oestrogen, progesterone, and HER2. So, treatments that target those don’t work here. It’s sneaky, fast-growing, and more likely to come back after treatment, especially among younger women. In fact, in India, around 30 per cent of breast cancer cases are triple-negative. That’s a lot. So, if something can step in before the disease even shows up, that’s huge.

What does the vaccine actually do?

The vaccine focuses on a protein called alpha-lactalbumin. The body usually produces this protein only during late pregnancy and breastfeeding, when you’re making milk. But in many cases of TNBC, this protein suddenly pops back up on tumour cells. So, the vaccine works by teaching your immune system to recognise alpha-lactalbumin as a red flag. That way, if your body starts producing it again outside of pregnancy, your immune system recognises the threat and attacks, stopping any tumour before it fully forms. Dr Rima Patel said, “It is designed to alert the immune system to attack a breast tumour before it can develop or recur and prevent it from growing.”

Researchers tested the vaccine on 35 women in the Phase I trial, all of whom either had early-stage TNBC or were genetically at high risk. The side effects were fairly tame: a little soreness and mild inflammation around the injection site.

And here’s the best bit: over 75 per cent of participants developed a strong immune response. For an early-stage trial, that’s promising.

Is it ready to roll out?

Not just yet; after this comes Phase II, which will involve more participants and a longer study period to know how effective it is at preventing cancer. After this phase, the final report of this new breast cancer vaccine is expected around August 2025.

But make no mistake: even getting to this stage is massive. It’s the first-ever vaccine designed specifically to prevent breast cancer, not treat it after the fact. That’s a serious shift in how we have been treating the disease until now.

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