Immunotherapy is a general term that refers to a treatment that increases the immune system’s ability to find and kill cancer cells.
Several types of immunotherapy treatments are being studied in clinical trials for people with MBC: immune checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific antibodies, vaccines as treatment, oncolytic viruses, and cell-based therapies.
Researchers are also working on other ways to use immunotherapy to treat MBC such as combining radiation and immunotherapy and making immunotherapy work in more people with MBC.
Visit the links below to learn about different types of immunotherapy treatments being studied for MBC and to find immunotherapy clinical trials.
Introduction
- Cancer Research Institute: Researchers are studying many different ways to boost the immune system’s ability to kill cancer cells
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
- Metastatic Trial Talk: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
- National Cancer Institute: Drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors switch immune cells “on” so they can find and kill cancer cells
Bispecific Antibodies
- Metastatic Trial Talk: Bispecific Antibodies
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Bispecific antibodies bind to two molecules and may bring immune cells and cancer cells close together
Vaccines as Treatment
- Metastatic Trial Talk: Vaccines for MBC
- Breast Cancer Research Foundation: Breast cancer vaccines allow the immune system to see cancer cells that were invisible and kill them
Oncolytic Viruses
- Metastatic Trial Talk: Oncolytic Viruses
- National Cancer Institute: Oncolytic viruses cause cancer cells to burst and turn on the immune system to kill the cancer
Cell-Based Therapies
- Metastatic Trial Talk: Cell-Based Therapies
- Cancer Research Institute: Cell-based therapy uses cells as drugs to increase the immune system’s ability to find and kill cancer cells
MBC Clinical Trials
- Metastatic Trial Search: Trials for Immunotherapy
- Metastatic Trial Search: Trials for PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
- Metastatic Trial Search: Trials for Bispecific Antibodies
- Metastatic Trial Search: Trials for Vaccines as Treatment
- Metastatic Trial Search: Trials for Oncolytic Viruses
Last Modified on October 1, 2025