7 Key Takeaways from BCRF’s 2025 Symposium

Immunotherapy and prevention take center stage at the Foundation’s annual event

BCRF’s annual scientific symposium brought together some of the world’s leading breast cancer researchers, clinicians, and supporters. The conversation, “The Future of Immunotherapy and Breast Cancer,” was moderated by BCRF Founding Scientific Director Larry Norton, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Scientific Director Judy E. Garber, MD, MPH, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. The panelists included Mary L. (Nora) Disis, MD, University of Washington; Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PhD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute; and 2025 Jill Rose Award honoree Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, D.Phil, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania.

The robust discussion—spanning immunotherapy, prevention, genetics, liquid biopsies, lifestyle, and the future of cancer care—offered a clear message: We are entering a new era where breast cancer is more deeply understood and better detected, treated, and even prevented. We distilled the key takeaways to the top seven:

1. Immunotherapy, a concept initially thought impossible, is finally a real option for breast cancer

Fifteen years ago, early trials of immunotherapy in breast cancer had limited success. That led many to fear the field would never really take off. Today, thanks to persistent, decades-long research—including many BCRF-funded studies—immunotherapy is now a standard part of treatment for triple-negative breast cancer, with real survival benefits.

The panelists reflected on the paradigm shift occurring with immunotherapy: Instead of simply seeking to destroy cancer cells with drugs, this new form of treatment focuses on strengthening the body’s own immune system. Additionally, newer treatments such as checkpoint inhibitors work by releasing the brakes that cancers use to hide from the immune system.

2. Cancer vaccines are no longer science fiction

Multiple investigators described breast cancer vaccines developed or in development to:

• prevent recurrence after treatment
• treat existing cancers
• intercept very early lesions such as DCIS
• and even prevent breast cancer from ever developing

These aren’t vaccines like flu shots. Instead, they “train” the immune system ahead of time so it is ready to attack cells that might someday become cancer.

One especially promising direction: vaccines targeting inflammation related to obesity, a known breast cancer risk factor. Early trials show encouraging immune responses, and prevention-focused vaccine clinical trials are already enrolling patients.

3. Combining chemotherapy with immunotherapy can create a powerful one-two punch

Although chemotherapy suppresses the immune system, researchers discovered something surprising: When used in certain ways, chemotherapy can make immunotherapy more effective.

How? When chemo damages tumor cells, it can uncloak these cells that had been previously invisible to immune cells. This creates a trail of breadcrumbs the immune system can finally see—something immunotherapy can then amplify. This discovery has been especially meaningful for triple-negative breast cancer, where chemo-immunotherapy combinations have produced dramatically higher pathologic complete response (PCR) rates before surgery.

Work is underway to understand whether similar benefits apply to hormone-receptor-positive cancers. In fact, results from the P-RAD trial were revealed at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December 2025. Led by BCRF-funded researcher Dr. Gaurav Gupta, results revealed that targeted radiation in combination with immunotherapy, before surgery, proved effective for some HR+ breast cancers.

4. Dormancy—the “hibernation” of cancer cells—is finally being cracked open

A major fear among breast cancer survivors is recurrence many years after treatment. Scientists now understand that some cancer cells enter a state of dormancy, hiding in places like bone marrow. They are alive, but quiet—sometimes for decades—until something triggers their reawakening.

Breakthrough studies from BCRF-supported researchers have shown that dormant cells behave differently than cells in a breast tumor. They rely on unique survival pathways, and drugs that target those pathways may eliminate them.

Clinical trials using bone-marrow sampling and circulating tumor DNA (liquid biopsy) are beginning to identify those that still carry residual dormant cells and might benefit most from preventive therapies such as immunotherapy or targeted agents.

5. Liquid biopsies will soon change how recurrence risk is determined and how trials are run

A “liquid biopsy” refers to measuring tiny fragments of tumor DNA circulating in the blood. While the concept has existed for decades, only recent technological advances have allowed scientists to detect these fragments at extremely low levels.

Researchers explained that liquid biopsy can reveal whether cancer is truly gone after surgery and chemotherapy—even when cancer might be too small to see on imaging.

In triple-negative breast cancer, a large BCRF-supported study showed that circulating tumor DNA strongly predicts recurrence, opening the door to:

• identifying relapse months or even years earlier
• sparing patients unnecessary treatments if no DNA is detected
• dramatically smaller, faster, more accurate clinical trials focused on only those patients with detectable disease

This approach is expected to accelerate drug development across multiple cancers.

6. Lifestyle, especially exercise and obesity, directly changes the immune environment of breast tissue

Exercise and diet are not “soft science,” researchers emphasized. In fact, inflammation driven by obesity and inactivity can impair immune cells and create a microenvironment more welcoming to cancer.

A landmark randomized trial (in colon cancer but showing broad effects) demonstrated that structured exercise reduced both the risk of cancer returning as well as the risk of new cancers such as breast cancer from developing.

Laboratory studies show that fat cells and inactivity alter immune cell behavior; for example, surrounding immune cells with lipids so they struggle to recognize and kill abnormal cells. Exercise can reverse many of these harmful changes. This provides biological proof for something long suspected: Healthy lifestyle habits are powerful cancer-prevention tools.

7. Prevention in high-risk women is on the horizon

People with inherited mutations like BRCA1 and BRCA2 are eager for non-surgical ways to reduce cancer risk. Early vaccine studies show these individuals mount strong immune responses, and prevention-focused immunotherapy may become a realistic option.

Researchers stressed that genetics and immunology, once seen as separate arenas, are converging. As understanding deepens, prevention strategies will likely expand beyond BRCA to other hereditary risk genes.

A final theme: Collaboration and data-sharing are poised to accelerate breakthroughs

BCRF Chief Scientific Officer Dorraya El-Ashry, PhD offered insight on the future of research. She highlighted how BCRF’s Global Data Hub is enabling scientists worldwide to share massive datasets, fueling breakthroughs in AI-powered research and helping discoveries move from lab to clinic faster than ever before. The message was clear: Cancer research moves quickest when everyone works together.