From her initial days as a Nightly News intern at 30 Rockefeller Center in 1993, Kristen Dahlgren, a familiar face on Today Show Nbc, harbored a dream of becoming a network correspondent. Through her reporting, she aspired to make a tangible difference in the world. However, her career path took an unexpected turn when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. This experience, coupled with a meeting with Dr. Nora Disis at UW Medicine’s Cancer Vaccine Institute, ignited a new passion within her: advocating for the development of breast cancer vaccines.
Dr. Disis posed a compelling question: “Can you imagine a world where no one would die of breast cancer because of a vaccine?” This question resonated deeply with Dahlgren, who had witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of the disease. Inspired by Dr. Disis’ work, Dahlgren embarked on a four-month journey, delving into research and connecting with leading cancer researchers and oncologists across the nation.
In 2013, Dr. Disis and her team achieved a breakthrough with a promising trial involving 66 women with advanced-stage HER2-positive breast cancer. While the trial’s primary objective wasn’t to evaluate the vaccine’s ability to halt or prevent cancer progression, the results were striking. A significant number of participants outlived the typical prognosis for this type of cancer, with 80% of those receiving the optimal vaccine dose surviving past the 10-year mark.
Dahlgren’s journey led her to Seattle, where she visited the Cancer Vaccine Institute’s lab and met with Dr. Disis and Brigette Hempstead, a trial participant whose story epitomizes the potential of cancer vaccines. Hempstead, initially given a year to live, defied the odds thanks to the vaccine trial. She attributes her survival to the vaccine’s ability to activate an immune response against recurring cancer cells.
Dr. Disis believes that the understanding of how to trigger this immune response, combined with the identification of specific breast cancer targets, marks a turning point in the development of vaccines to eradicate the disease. Her team is currently working on STEMVAC, a vaccine candidate designed to target cancer stem cells, which are often resistant to conventional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. STEMVAC holds promise for various types of breast cancer and is currently undergoing phase 2 trials.
The Cancer Vaccine Institute isn’t alone in this groundbreaking endeavor. The Cleveland Clinic and Anixa Biosciences recently reported positive data from a phase 1 trial of a vaccine targeting aggressive triple-negative breast cancer, a notoriously difficult-to-treat form of the disease. The majority of participants exhibited the desired T-cell responses without experiencing adverse side effects.
Jenni Davis, the first recipient of the Cleveland Clinic’s vaccine, shared her personal experience on the Today Show NBC. As a nurse, she understood the grim realities of a triple-negative diagnosis. However, the vaccine trial offered her a glimmer of hope. Davis reports a positive immune response with minimal side effects, echoing the experiences of other trial participants. She believes the vaccine has trained her body to recognize and eliminate cancerous cells before they can develop into tumors.
Inspired by these advancements and driven by a desire to accelerate the development of breast cancer vaccines, Dahlgren, alongside fellow breast cancer survivor Michele Young, founded the Pink Eraser Project. This non-profit organization aims to unite leading researchers and facilitate collaboration to expedite the process of bringing effective breast cancer vaccines to all who need them. This initiative underscores the transformative power of collaboration in the fight against breast cancer, a cause championed by Dahlgren on Today Show NBC and beyond.
