Cancer researcher Karine Breckpot became a cancer patient herself

Today we visit Karine Breckpot on the VUB campus in Jette. A professor at our university, she has been conducting cancer research for 25 years. Her work focuses specifically on immunotherapy. After years of research, she faced cervical cancer herself in 2016. Here, we not only discuss her research, we also look back at the five turbulent years when she underwent cancer treatment. We hear how her own experiences influenced her as a scientist as well as a person.

A passion for cancer research

From an early age, Karine knew she wanted to do something related to cancer research. “When I had to choose what to study, I didn’t hesitate for long,” she says. “Biomedical sciences gave me the chance to learn how our bodies work. Everyone comes into contact with cancer at some point in their lives. I wanted to understand what happens in the body then and how it functions. And above all: what we can do about it.”

After studying biomedical sciences, she began an internship in the lab of former VUB rector Professor Benjamin Van Camp. “After this internship, I decided to pursue a PhD in the laboratory of Professor Kris Thielemans. I focused my research on dendritic cells, a particular cell type within our immune system. I investigated how we could manipulate these cells to subsequently teach all other cells within the immune system, especially T cells, to attack a cancer cell. On top of that, we actively explore strategies to support the taught T cells in their cancer-killing activity, known as immune checkpoint therapy. We’re now 25 years later and I haven’t regretted my choice for a moment.”

Suddenly a patient herself

In 2016, Karine made a terrible discovery. After working on strategies to fight cancer for years, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer herself. What followed was five turbulent years of trial and error.

Surgery to remove her cancerous tumour appeared to be successful. However, a year and a half later, Karine relapsed and began another treatment strategy: radiotherapy combined with mild chemotherapy to attack the metastatic cancer cells. Again, Karine seemed to respond positively to this combination therapy. Nothing more could be seen on the CT scan. But three months later, she faced new tumours for the third time.

“On the one hand, I felt a lot of fear, a feeling that most people experience when you’re suddenly confronted with your own mortality. On the other hand, the support from the large number of people around me gave me a very warm feeling.”

“There was a moment when the doctors said that the chances of a cure were extremely slim and that the treatments would only prolong life. This was very tough, because I’d had a positive attitude beforehand. I genuinely believed I would pull through. Then when the bomb drops you’re told that only life-extending treatments can be carried out, not a cure, you do lose all hope for a moment.”

Saved by immunotherapy

Suddenly, less than a week later, Karine received hopeful news. A clinical trial would begin in which she would qualify for immunotherapy, the kind of therapy she works on, namely immune checkpoint therapy. “What a rollercoaster. I knew this could be the therapy that would help me. I was overjoyed. And then the anxious wait and see...”

She knew from literature research that this method was ground-breaking. “In some cancer patients where the classical therapies haven’t worked, immunotherapy has worked. I made a mental switch. I stopped looking at what I did and didn’t want to do with my limited time and chose to live life to the full. We’re now almost two years later and I’m still monitored every three months, but so far everything is going well. That once seemed unlikely, but it’s now more of a reality every day.”

Mixed feelings

Her own battle with cancer is a time that Karine looks back on with mixed feelings. “It’s a period that has brought two feelings. On the one hand, there’s fear because you’re suddenly confronted with your own mortality. That, of course, is not pleasant. I turned 40 that year, and naturally had other plans for the future instead of getting sick,” she says.

“On the other hand, I also often experienced a very warm feeling during that turbulent time. I describe it that way because you notice that in both your direct and indirect environment, there are several moments when you really realise that your partner, family and friends are always there for you. You already know it, but in times like these it’s really confirmed.”

In addition, she also noticed how caring the VUB community is. “I’m talking about everyone, from the cleaning crew who regularly jumped in and said an encouraging word to the immediate colleagues who were very concerned,” she says. “They obviously knew very well what I was facing and what I had to go through. I felt that warmth at so many different moments.”

Our former honorary rector Caroline Pauwels – who died of stomach and oesophageal cancer in 2022 – was an inspirational figure for Karine during her own struggle. “I had some conversations with her and she was really an example to me. It’s good to see people who are going through the same thing as you and who don’t give up.

“Like Caroline, I also want to look straight ahead. At no point do I want to be labelled a victim or as ‘sick’. I’m still the same person I was before my illness.”

Hopeful for the future 

As a researcher as well as a person, Karine looks to the future with hope. “Everything is evolving so incredibly quickly,” she says. She emphasises the collaborations of researchers at VUB, but also at inter-university and international level.

“We learn every day why patients don’t respond to certain treatments and how we can do something about it. That’s the message I want to give to people facing the disease right now: never give up courage or hope, science is evolving quickly and finding solutions that can bring a cure.”

Vrije Universiteit Brussel en UZ Brussel in strijd tegen kanker

Zaterdag 4 februari is het Wereldkankerdag, de dag waarop wereldwijd wordt stilgestaan bij de impact van kanker. Als Urban Engaged University zet de Vrije Universiteit Brussel zich in voor de strijd tegen kanker door middel van onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek. Het UZ Brussel, het universitair ziekenhuis van de VUB en verbonden aan de faculteit Geneeskunde en Farmacie, is een belangrijke partner in zorg, onderwijs en onderzoek. 

Door kennis en experten rond kanker te bundelen, willen beide instellingen bijdragen tot een betere maatschappelijke bewustwording rond kanker en kankeronderzoek. Want meer awareness is nodig ter preventie en genezing van kanker én het komt ook de zoektocht naar kankerremedies en het welzijn van kankerpatiënten ten goede.