Vaccine Hesitancy Threatens Impact of New Cancer Vaccines

Nearly five years ago, Chase Johnson was cured of breast cancer but not of the anxiety that it would return. Johnson, now 37 and a resident of Cary, North Carolina, was only 31 when she was diagnosed with stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer in 2021.

Despite being a decade away from regular mammograms and having no family history of breast cancer, Johnson discovered a lump after her dog poked her chest. She underwent chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, and by 2022, doctors declared her cancer-free, though they warned there was a 40% chance it would return.

Johnson enrolled in a clinical trial at the Cleveland Clinic testing a new breast cancer vaccine, which has shown positive early results: In nearly three-quarters of participants, including Johnson, it generated an immune response.

The potential of mRNA vaccines is particularly exciting, as pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck announced last month that their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, combined with an immunotherapy drug, had succeeded in a late-stage trial for skin cancer. However, many doctors and researchers are concerned that misinformation and resulting vaccine hesitancy could blunt the impact of new cancer vaccines.

They point to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as a cautionary tale: safe and extremely effective at reducing the risk of cervical cancer by 80% in minors vaccinated by age 16, but decades of misinformation have reduced uptake. A study co-authored by Dannell Boatman found that HPV misinformation on social media platforms was most pervasive in users' comments.

Boatman expects a similar dynamic with breast cancer vaccines and hopes an ongoing study on 'inoculation theory' will help combat false claims.