https://cancervaccinecoalition.org/

Cancer Vaccine Coalition, Seattle, WA (2026)

04/14/2026

BREAKING NEWS: Cancer Vaccine Coalition is joining forces with Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

This strategic integration comes as momentum builds for cancer vaccines—driven by scientific breakthroughs, increased investment, and growing public and private support.

Together, we’ll support high-impact research, advance clinical trials, and back the most promising vaccine strategies with the greatest potential to benefit patients, particularly those at high risk of cancer recurrence.

Kristen Dahlgren, former NBC correspondent and CVC founder, is joining PICI as Chief External Affairs Officer, where she will lead efforts to expand awareness, mobilize resources, and accelerate progress in the field.

From the beginning, Cancer Vaccine Coalition was built for one thing: to be a catalyst.

Our mission was to break down silos and build global collaborations to accelerate cancer vaccines. We vowed to follow the science and find the very best path to get cutting-edge treatments to patients sooner. It was never about building a nonprofit—it was about building a MOVEMENT.

And that is what we are doing… now at an even larger scale.

Find us at | Follow Kristen

04/14/2026

BREAKING NEWS: Cancer Vaccine Coalition is joining forces with Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

This strategic integration comes as momentum builds for cancer vaccines—driven by scientific breakthroughs, increased investment, and growing public and private support.

Together, we’ll support high-impact research, advance clinical trials, and back the most promising vaccine strategies with the greatest potential to benefit patients, particularly those at high risk of cancer recurrence.

Kristen Dahlgren, former NBC correspondent and CVC founder, is joining PICI as Chief External Affairs Officer, where she will lead efforts to expand awareness, mobilize resources, and accelerate progress in the field.

From the beginning, Cancer Vaccine Coalition was built for one thing: to be a catalyst.

Our mission was to break down silos and build global collaborations to accelerate cancer vaccines.

We vowed to follow the science and find the very best path to get cutting-edge treatments to patients sooner. It was never about building a nonprofit—it was about building a MOVEMENT.

And that is what we are doing… now at an even larger scale.

Find us at | Follow Kristen

03/31/2026

What if cancer could be stopped before it ever comes back as metastatic? A new clinical trial is testing exactly that.

💛 The Cancer Vaccine Coalition, in partnership with , just committed $1 million toward a Phase II breast cancer vaccine trial at UT MD Anderson designed to detect and intercept cancer at its earliest molecular stage.

Here’s what makes this different: Today, most recurrences are only treated once tumors are big enough to see on scans. By then, the disease may be hard to treat. This trial flips that model.

The study, led by Dr. Paula Pohlmann, focuses on patients with high-risk HER2+ breast cancer following initial treatment—before it becomes stage 4.

Using blood tests to detect microscopic traces of cancer in the bloodstream, researchers will immediately intervene with a therapeutic vaccine that trains the immune system to destroy those cells before they can spread.

The goal:
💛 Detect cancer recurrence at its earliest possible signal
💛 Intervene before cancer becomes visible or spreads
💛 Evaluate whether a cancer vaccine can eliminate microscopic disease

Up to 30% of early-stage breast cancer cases come back as metastatic disease.

This trial is designed to challenge that reality—by acting earlier, when the disease burden is lowest and the immune system may be most effective.

This is the type of research that gives us so much hope. A different approach that could open the door to a new era in cancer care—one where recurrence is not just treated, but prevented.

03/31/2026

What if cancer could be stopped before it ever comes back as metastatic? A new clinical trial is testing exactly that.

💛 The Cancer Vaccine Coalition, in partnership with , just committed $1 million toward a Phase II breast cancer vaccine trial at UT MD Anderson designed to detect and intercept cancer at its earliest molecular stage.

Here’s what makes this different: Today, most recurrences are only treated once tumors are big enough to see on scans. By then, the disease may be hard to treat. This trial flips that model.

The study, led by Dr. Paula Pohlmann, focuses on patients with high-risk HER2+ breast cancer following initial treatment—before it becomes stage 4.

Using blood tests to detect microscopic traces of cancer in the bloodstream, researchers will immediately intervene with a therapeutic vaccine that trains the immune system to destroy those cells before they can spread.

The goal:
💛 Detect cancer recurrence at its earliest possible signal
💛 Intervene before cancer becomes visible or spreads
💛 Evaluate whether a cancer vaccine can eliminate microscopic disease

Up to 30% of early-stage breast cancer cases come back as metastatic disease.

This trial is designed to challenge that reality—by acting earlier, when the disease burden is lowest and the immune system may be most effective.

This is the type of research that gives us so much hope. A different approach that could open the door to a new era in cancer care—one where recurrence is not just treated, but prevented.

03/20/2026

You know that great feeling when you check something off of your to do list??

Well that’s what we at Cancer Vaccine Coalition are basking in this week:

Help build a national effort to accelerate cancer vaccines and get better treatments to patients ASAP- CHECK ✅

In less than 2 years we’ve moved from seeing a gap in support for promising immune activating treatments to Cancer vaccines taking center stage as the Foundation for National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) presented a comprehensive plan to the National Cancer Advisory Board for exactly the kind of collaboration we envisioned.

A brilliant group of researchers from across the country has been meeting for the last 3 months- along with Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, American Association for Cancer Research, and our Cancer Vaccine Coalition, shaping this plan to stand up research aimed at getting cutting edge treatments to cancer patients.

Our founder Kristen Dahlgren was the only patient advocate on the committee.

Here’s what has us so energized about the Cancer Vaccines Roadmap:

💛 The NCAB members were incredibly engaged. One even said post-presentation “I’m so excited about this initiative.”
💛 This initiative has been “run up the chain of command” and is being taken seriously at the highest levels of government. There is strong programmatic support.
💛 There is a lot of room for innovation and we should not ignore ANY big idea.
💛 And maybe our favorite, since this is what our founder Kristen Dahlgren has been saying from day one… we need to take multiple shots on goal.

To everyone who has screamed this from the rooftops, shared your stories, believed in this mission when it was just an idea… THIS is what we’re building together.

With 1 in 2 of us expected to be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetimes, this work is urgent.

This is the start, but it is the biggest coordinated effort in cancer vaccines EVER. We’re here for it. We’ll be a part of it- and we hope you will too.

03/06/2026

Board-certified medical oncologist Dr. Eleanor Teplinsky is hopeful cancer vaccines could change everything for her patients.

💛 Specializing in breast and gynecologic cancer, Dr. Teplinsky spends her life showing up for patients every single day: caring for them through the hardest moments of their lives.

One of the most common questions she hears: What if my cancer comes back? What will I do?

💛 The fear of recurrence can live with survivors long after treatment.

But cancer vaccines are giving her and her patients something they desperately need: hope. Cancer vaccines are showing incredible promise in clinical trials. Teaching our immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.

This could be a new way forward. But none of it can happen without research and funding. Every day, her patients and their families ask how they can help. So many say they don’t have a lot of money to give. And that’s OK.

💛 Here is what she says to that: “Every dollar counts. If you say I’m not going to go to Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks for my morning coffee today and I’m going to put my $5 toward vaccine research, instead. If everyone does that, that can really add up.”

The Cancer Vaccine Coalition is focused on accelerating cancer vaccine research and supporting clinical trials that could give us the ultimate dream: a cancer-free future and a world where “what if it comes back?” becomes a question of the past.

🔗 Donate today: cancervaccinecoalition.org

02/27/2026

A historic snowstorm earlier this year coincided with our historic cancer vaccine think tank. The weather tried to derail our plans… but progress doesn’t wait for perfection.

💛 That’s why more than 60 cancer vaccine researchers came together for two days. Everyone threw competition out the window. This was about collaboration.

💛 And your support helped make it possible - helped move cancer vaccine research into its next phase: coordination.

Swipe ➡️ for the biggest takeaways from this unprecedented gathering.

02/20/2026

💛 Big news for cancer vaccine research 💛

In a recent clinical trial, a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine combined with KEYTRUDA helped reduce the risk of melanoma returning or causing death by 49% compared with immunotherapy alone.

After surgery for high-risk stage III/IV melanoma, patients received a custom vaccine, designed from their own tumor, developed through a collaboration between Moderna and Merck.

Five-year follow-up showed:

💛 The benefit lasted over time
💛 Fewer recurrences
💛 No new or unexpected safety concerns

The results were strong enough to move into Phase 3, now fully enrolled.

Cancer vaccines are no longer theoretical. They are showing real-world impact for patients today. And this may be just the beginning.

02/12/2026

Olivia Boger was 10 years old when her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. But Olivia didn’t know. For the next 10 years, Olivia’s mom protected her kids from the heartbreak and hardship that comes with a cancer diagnosis.

More than anything, Olivia’s mom wanted to focus on being a mom for her children ... and give her kids the gift of normalcy. It’s an act Olivia calls “selfless.”

Olivia was 20 when her mom died from breast cancer.

After her mom’s death, Olivia wanted to be able to give that same gift of normalcy that her mom gave her, to other families.

It’s where the mission for her organization came from. Runway for Recovery supports families on their breast cancer journey — funding services that keep kids’ lives as normal as possible when their family needs it most.

For nearly 2 decades, Runway for Recovery has been a lifeline for these families. Survivors walk the runway, communities come together and families get the support they need.

💛 In just a few weeks, our founder and her daughter will join Olivia in LA to walk the runway for a second time. This is what collaboration looks like. Two organizations supporting one another, bringing together communities and resources, all working towards a cancer-free future.

Cancer vaccines for multiple cancers, including breast cancer, are already in clinical trials. They could mean fewer kids lose their moms. Fewer families living with the kind of loss Olivia has carried for decades.

Here’s how you can help both missions:

💛 DONATE to cancer vaccine research: Every dollar accelerates access to these life-changing treatments (link in bio)

💛 GET TICKETS to Runway for Recovery’s fashion shows in NY and LA — supporting families impacted by breast cancer right now (link in bio or )

💛 FOLLOW and to fuel the movement

02/10/2026

Could vaccinations stop people from getting cancer?

That’s the question Dr. Sarah Blagden of Oxford University explores in a recent episode of the Oxford Sparks Big Questions podcast.

We at Cancer Vaccine Coalition are big fans of Dr Blagden who has joined our scientific meetings to talk through the latest science and potential for global collaborations.

Dr. Blagden leads an Oxford lab focused on preventing cancer and is working on developing the world’s first preventative cancer vaccines.

💛 Listen to Dr. Blagden’s full interview: oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/could-vaccinations-stop-people-from-getting-cancer”

Cancer Vaccine Coalition

04/14/2026

04/14/2026

03/31/2026

03/31/2026

03/20/2026

03/06/2026

02/27/2026

02/20/2026

02/12/2026

02/10/2026

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