09.07.2025

Vaccines for cancer prevention: exploring opportunities and navigating challenges

We’re thrilled to announce the publication of the latest review by Prof. Lana Kandalaft Chief of Clinical and Translational Research and Dr. Michele Graciotti Director of Clinical Development of Swiss Medical Network: «Vaccines for cancer prevention: exploring opportunities and navigating challenges», a forward-looking roadmap for one of the most promising frontiers in oncology: preventing cancer before it starts.

While traditional cancer vaccines have largely focused on treating advanced disease—often in the face of an already suppressed immune system—this review shifts the spotlight to a new paradigm: cancer vaccines as a preventive tool. By engaging the immune system before tumors take hold, these strategies could fundamentally reshape how we approach cancer risk, interception, and control.

Michele Graciotti & Lana E. Kandalaft

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39622986/

Key highlights from the review

Primary prevention has already shown success with HPV and HBV vaccines, dramatically reducing virus-associated cancers. The challenge now is extending this also to non-viral cancers.
Emerging targets like proto-oncogenes (e.g., KRAS) and tumor-associated antigens (MUC1, HER2) offer a promising path for vaccinating at-risk populations—such as individuals with genetic predispositions (e.g., BRCA, Lynch syndrome).
Secondary prevention strategies, including vaccines for early lesions like colorectal adenomas and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), have shown encouraging clinical responses and long-term immune memory.
Tertiary prevention, such as post-treatment vaccination, continues to play a vital role in cancer care by helping to strengthen the immune system after initial therapy. These innovative strategies aim to eliminate residual disease, prolong remission, and reduce the risk of cancer recurrence."

Want to learn more?

Click here to read the full publication.

The bigger picture

Cancer-preventive vaccines could drastically reduce global cancer incidence, particularly if integrated with early diagnostics, genomics, and personalized risk profiling. But making this vision a reality requires overcoming challenges in antigen selection, vaccine formulation, and public acceptance—a call to action explored in detail in the article.

This review is both a reflection of progress and a blueprint for the future of cancer prevention, with the hope of sparking new collaborations, fueling bold research, and focusing efforts towards smart approaches to overcome cancer—before it begins.

Graciotti M, Kandalaft LE. Vaccines for cancer prevention: exploring opportunities and navigating challenges. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2025 Feb;24(2):134-150. doi: 10.1038/s41573-024-01081-5. Epub 2024 Dec 2. PMID: 39622986.

Prof. Lana E. Kandalaft

Chief of Clinical and Translational Research

Prof. Lana E. Kandalaft is currently the Chief of Clinical and Translational Research at Swiss Medical Network and Associate Director of Clinical Translation at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Over the past 15 years, her research activities have centered on the development of effective cancer vaccines, spanning both preclinical and clinical domains.

With more than 100 scientific publications in vaccine development and clinical research published in prestigious journals such as Nature Drug Discovery, Science and Nature, among others, she is considered a leading figure in the world of Cancer Immunology and therapeutic cancer vaccines.

At Swiss Medical Network, her current mission is to develop novel vaccines for cancer prevention and therapeutics, bringing them to fruition to patients and to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical research ensuring the rapid and safe deployment of new medical interventions to cancer patients.

Dr. Michele Graciotti

Director of Clinical Development in the Clinical Trial Unit

Dr. Michele Graciotti is currently the Director of Clinical Development in the Clinical Trial Unit of Swiss Medical Network. Michele has a strong background in both fundamental and clinical research with an expertise in the design and development of novel treatments to meet global medical needs such as against malaria and cancer.

In the last decade, he worked in the field of cancer immunology and translational research design, putting his expertise at service to develop novel and powerful therapeutic cancer vaccines.

At Swiss Medical Network, his current mission is to support the clinical development of novel cancer vaccines as well as fostering fruitful collaborations with leading research institutions, pharmaceutical companies, biotech start-ups and regulatory bodies to ensure the rapid and safe clinical translation of scientific innovations

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