Breast cancer immunotherapy
Breast cancer usually responds well to first-line treatment. Holding that result is the harder part — and that is exactly what cell immunotherapy works on.
Why immunotherapy when treatment already went well
Surgery, chemotherapy, hormone and targeted therapy work well in breast cancer: most patients finish treatment with no evidence of disease. The problem lies elsewhere. Single tumour cells can remain in the body — too few to be seen on mammography, ultrasound or CT, but enough to produce a recurrence or distant metastases years later.
These cells do not divide actively, so chemotherapy, which targets rapidly dividing cells, often misses them. The immune system can find them — if it can tell them apart. Cell immunotherapy addresses exactly that: it teaches the patient's own immune cells to recognise proteins characteristic of breast tumour cells and to keep that surveillance going long after the main treatment ends.
The boundary should be stated plainly. The method replaces neither surgery, nor chemotherapy, nor hormone therapy, nor trastuzumab in HER2-positive disease. It is used in addition to them, and we never recommend giving up standard treatment in its favour.
The subtype determines everything else. Luminal tumours are controlled for years by hormone therapy, HER2-positive ones by targeted therapy. Triple-negative disease is the hardest: it has neither hormone receptors nor HER2, which means no target for either line. This is where an additional immune mechanism matters most.
What the immunotherapy actually does
The method works on what remains invisible after the main treatment.
Blood draw and preparation
Blood is taken from the patient, immune cells are isolated from it and worked on outside the body: they are activated and directed against tumour antigens. The preparation is made individually, for that particular patient.
Blood is taken from the patient, immune cells are isolated from it and worked on outside the body: they are activated and directed against tumour antigens. The preparation is made individually, for that particular patient.
Administration
The procedure is outpatient; no hospital stay is needed. In the first 24 hours a slight temperature, weakness and redness at the injection site are common — an expected response to immune activation that resolves on its own.
The procedure is outpatient; no hospital stay is needed. In the first 24 hours a slight temperature, weakness and redness at the injection site are common — an expected response to immune activation that resolves on its own.
Immune surveillance
The resulting response works systemically: the trained cells circulate and can find single tumour cells where imaging cannot yet see them — in bone marrow, lymph nodes or lungs.
The resulting response works systemically: the trained cells circulate and can find single tumour cells where imaging cannot yet see them — in bone marrow, lymph nodes or lungs.
Follow-up
Monitoring follows the usual oncology schedule: examination, mammography or ultrasound, CT and tumour markers as prescribed. Immunotherapy does not change that schedule and does not cancel follow-up with your treating oncologist.
Monitoring follows the usual oncology schedule: examination, mammography or ultrasound, CT and tumour markers as prescribed. Immunotherapy does not change that schedule and does not cancel follow-up with your treating oncologist.
Who the method suits and how the course is arranged
The decision depends on the tumour subtype, the extent of treatment already given and the receptor status.
When we discuss the method
After radical surgery when the risk of recurrence is high — large tumour size, involved lymph nodes, high grade; in triple-negative disease; in metastatic disease as part of combined treatment.
When it is not needed
A small early-stage tumour without nodal involvement, removed radically, with a favourable receptor status: the risk of recurrence is low and additional treatment will not reduce it meaningfully.
Contraindications
Acute infections and flare-ups of chronic ones, decompensation of severe concomitant disease, pregnancy and breastfeeding, and conditions in which the immune response is deliberately suppressed. The full list is determined at the in-person consultation.
Hormone therapy continues
Tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors, trastuzumab and other prescribed drugs are taken on as scheduled by your oncologist. Immunotherapy works alongside them; stopping prescribed treatment on your own is not acceptable.
How long it takes
Treatment is outpatient. The induction stage runs over several months, with intervals matched to chemotherapy cycles and blood counts: during deep cytopenia a procedure is postponed.
Cost
The immunorehabilitation course for tumour diseases costs from 285 000 ₽ and can be paid for in stages. A consultation with the professor costs 10 000 ₽, with the oncologist 7 000 ₽.
What to expect
With no evidence of disease the goal is to reduce the chance of the disease returning. In metastatic disease it is to keep the tumour under control and preserve quality of life; the method does not promise that lesions will disappear.
This is not a drug that has been through a phase III randomized trial. The centre's experience is based on groups of patients treated, and the decision is taken with that difference in mind.
Complete documents: histology with receptor status and HER2, the surgical report, the regimens already given. The more precise the inputs, the more meaningful the recommendation — and the sooner it becomes clear whether the method is needed at all.
Questions about breast cancer treatment
How does immunotherapy help in breast cancer?
It builds long-term antitumour immunity, aimed at the residual tumour cells left after the main treatment — the cells from which a recurrence usually develops years into remission.
Does it help in triple-negative breast cancer?
That is one of the main indications. Triple-negative tumours have neither hormone receptors nor HER2, so there is no target for hormone or anti-HER2 therapy. An additional immune mechanism is most valuable here.
Can it be combined with surgery and chemotherapy?
Yes, and that is how it is used. It complements surgical, drug and radiation treatment without adding heavy toxicity. Intervals between procedures are agreed with the chemotherapy cycles.
What side effects are there?
Most often a short reaction in the first 24 hours: slight temperature, weakness, aching, redness and tenderness at the injection site. This is the expected response to immune activation. Any unusual reaction should be reported to the doctor at once.
What should I send before the consultation?
The histology report with receptor status (ER, PR, HER2, Ki-67), the surgical report and discharge summary, the chemotherapy, hormone and radiotherapy regimens given, recent imaging with written reports and current blood tests.
How much does it cost and can I travel from another region?
The course costs from 285 000 ₽ and can be paid in stages; the exact sum is set after the consultation. The centre is in Khimki, Skhodnya, next to Moscow, and accepts patients from other regions. An initial review of documents can be done remotely.
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