Dr. Disis awarded funding to advance cancer vaccine that targets obesity & breast cancer

Photo Credit: Lisa Stromme Warren

CVI Founder and Director Dr. Nora Disis received a grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to continue her work on designing a vaccine that prevents breast cancer by targeting obesity.

Obesity is an important risk factor for many cancers, especially breast cancer as it can increase a woman’s risk of developing the disease by 20-40%. The fat tissue can trigger an immune response that causes sustained inflammation, which promotes malignant cell transformation that can’t be eliminated simply by losing weight. 

Using a similar technology to the CVI’s other cancer vaccines, Dr. Disis is developing an anti-inflammatory vaccine called ADVac that is designed to reverse diabetes, prevent breast cancer, and be affordable.

“This type of vaccine would be much less expensive — and therefore more accessible —  than any of the current drugs used to treat obesity and its resultant diseases,” Dr. Disis told the Fred Hutch Cancer Center.

Read more about ADVac and other BCRF fundings via Fred Hutch.