Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month: From Awareness to Action

For those impacted by ovarian cancer, September is more than just another month. It’s Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness for a disease that remains underfunded and underrecognized, and a moment for patients and families to be truly seen and heard as we push for the breakthroughs they’ve waited far too long for.

Ovarian cancer is especially challenging because there are no reliable tests to catch it early. Most people are diagnosed after the disease is already at an advanced stage. Only 31% of patients with stage IV disease live past five years, a number that has not meaningfully improved for decades. We can treat the disease and get patients to remission, but it often returns. We need safe and effective strategies to treat ovarian cancer and prevent its recurrence so patients can live their lives without fear of the disease coming back.

While ovarian cancer is considered a rare disease – about one in 78 women will get it in their lifetimes – the risk is much higher in people with known genetic mutations or a strong history of cancer in their family. For some, the risk of developing ovarian cancer can be higher than 50%. People at high risk can choose preventative surgery to remove their ovaries and fallopian tubes, which greatly reduces their cancer risk but does not eliminate it. The sudden menopause caused by the surgery can create other health risks such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and other conditions. Faced with potentially lifelong consequences of surgery, many people at high risk delay preventative surgery, underscoring the need for effective, safe, and less invasive ways to prevent the disease before it starts.

At the Cancer Vaccine Institute, we are taking a multi-pronged approach with four vaccines, each with specific roles to effectively and safely treat ovarian cancer, prevent its recurrence, or prevent the disease from occurring in the first place. We are developing vaccines designed to program the immune system to recognize and kill ovarian cancer cells wherever they may be in the body. Cancer-killing immune cells patrol the patient’s body for decades after vaccination, providing long-term protection. Because the immune responses are specific to cancer, the patient’s healthy cells are protected, making vaccines a safe, non-toxic way to kill cancer.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll dive deeper into our ovarian cancer vaccines and how they can treat and prevent recurrence, and may prevent the disease from occurring in the first place.