President’s Message – May 2018

Dear Colleagues,

The identification, standardization and validation of biomarkers will assist clinicians to identify the best cancer immunotherapies for patients and inform research scientists about the most critical areas of immunology for further investigation. Data from the last several years has shown the importance of checkpoint molecule expression, tumor mutation burden and CD8+ T cell infiltrate localization in tumors for patient outcomes, yet clinically validated, actionable biomarkers are not yet in hand. As many of you know, biomarker research has long been a research focus of mine and one reason I became a member of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), as SITC shares this passion to advance immune biomarker science. 

 

I am proud to have been chairing the SITC Immune Biomarkers Committee, which is working at the forefront of biomarker research. The committee convened in 2014 to review the state of the field and identify challenges and opportunities still facing the community. At the time, the committee was comprised of four working groups (WG) dedicated to the following topic areas:

• WG 1 – Immunologic Monitoring, Assay Standardization & Validation
• WG 2 – New Developments in Biomarker Assays & New Technologies
• WG 3 – Assessment of Immune Regulation & Modulation Systematically (High Throughput Approaches)
• WG 4 – Prediction of Clinical Outcome Based on Baseline Measures

These hard-working teams published five white papers in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC) – SITC's open-access, peer-reviewed online journal. Building on these efforts, the committee is ready to apply its members' expertise to shaping the future of the field.

The SITC Immune Biomarkers Committee is pleased to invite individuals from across academia, biotech, pharma, government and clinical research communities to our upcoming workshop, Immuno-Oncology Biomarkers: State of the Art, May 16 – 17, 2018, in San Francisco. This small and focused gathering will support cross-disciplinary cooperation across organizations to advance biomarker development, shape innovative new collaborations, and determine future projects of the committee in the coming years.

This Biomarkers Workshop takes place following two days of dynamic collaboration during the Cancer Immune Responsiveness Workshop (May 14 – 15, 2018), which will feature discussions on the role of host genetics and environmental modifiers in cancer biology, adaptive and innate immune mechanisms that initiate a therapeutic response, and the development of improved in vivo models for screening novel therapeutic strategies.

SITC is proud to organize and support meaningful, impactful collaborations involving participants from every expertise. These workshops are an excellent example of SITC's effort to better the field, and I look forward to seeing you in San Francisco!

Sincerely,

Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD SITC President

President’s Message – April 2018

Dear Colleagues,

I wish everyone a happy spring! The past 16 months as SITC President have been eventful, and I am especially focused on a topic important to me: the role of women in our field.

SITC 2018, scheduled for Nov. 7 – 11 in Washington, D.C., will be my second and final Annual Meeting as President before turning the role over to Mario Sznol's, MD, capable hands. The recent advances we've seen in our field are truly impressive. I look forward to the data presented at this year's Annual Meeting that highlight that progress.

In my tenure as SITC's first female president, I have worked to institute measures within SITC to promote and track the membership, volunteerism and society positions of women in the cancer immunotherapy field. During the SITC 2017 Membership Business Meeting, I shared several of the following statistics of current female involvement within the society:

SITC hasn't previously tracked gender data from members or meeting participants, so these figures are an important baseline by which we can measure our future progress. This information will help us identify gender gaps within our volunteer roles and program numbers, with a societal goal of reducing any gaps and providing equivalent opportunities in the future.

There are many women within SITC contributing in various leadership capacities – serving on the Board of Directors, as Section Editors in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), as meeting organizers, and through participation on our committees. These women play a critical role in the future of SITC, and I am confident our female contingencies in both membership and participation numbers will grow. I am proud to have helped develop our first "Women in Cancer Immunotherapy" reception at the 2017 Annual Meeting.

More than 30 of my female colleagues joined me to discuss ways we can bring sharper focus to women's contributions in the field, ensuring there is balance between the genders in speaking and leadership roles. Interestingly, I find myself a member of two other similar groups. At my own institution, the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center has convened a Women's Task Force to address any gender issues among the female faculty. I am also pleased to participate in the BMS-led "Women in Oncology and Research" group that includes representation across many societies and institutions. Clearly, there is terrific energy and momentum for addressing the professional experiences of women in many areas.

I look forward to hosting a second reception during the 33rd Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs, this November at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., our new venue. Please stay tuned for the scheduled date and time.

Speaking of the Annual Meeting, this issue of the Immune Monitor is dedicated to our upcoming annual conference. Please read on to learn more about new offerings and recurrent meeting highlights. SITC 2018 registration, available to SITC members at a discounted rate, is now open to the general public.

SITC 2018 promises to be our society's best yet and I look forward to seeing the SITC family in Washington, D.C.!

Sincerely,

Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD

SITC President

President's Message - December 2017

Dear Colleagues,

The past year has been one of significant scientific progress for the field of cancer immunotherapy and tumor immunology. Among the highlights:

• Pembrolizumab received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for treating patients with MSI-H/dMMR-positive solid tumors, marking the first ever “tissue-agnostic” designation for any cancer therapeutic, defining disease based on biomarker status rather than tissue location
• CAR T cell therapies obtained initial FDA approvals for treating both DLBCL and B-ALL following very positive clinical trial results
• Cancer immunotherapies also continued to gain new indications by obtaining initial FDA approvals in hepatocellular carcinoma (nivolumab), Merkel Cell Carcinoma (avelumab), and gastric/GEJ cancers (pembrolizumab)
• Multiple cancer immunotherapeutics including nivolumab, pembrolizumab, durvalumab, avelumab, and atezolizumab became options for treating patients with bladder cancer

As we look ahead to 2018, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) will continue to create opportunities for collaboration and scientific exchange for our growing membership base and beyond. Today, I’d like to single out two inter-connected workshops SITC has planned for May 2018 on biomarkers and cancer immune responsiveness.

Ten years after its inception, the SITC Immune Biomarkers Task Force will lead a two-day workshop to discuss critical next steps in biomarker science and assay development. Session topics will include best practices and validation; biomarker identification; data and specimen sharing and much more.

SITC’s newly-formed Cancer Immune Responsiveness Task Force will host a two-day workshop on topics that include tumor evolution in the immune competent host and the resulting immune landscape; identification of common pathways that should be targeted to understand and increase immunogenicity among silent or “cold” cancers and more.

The Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs – which will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. in 2018 due to continued growth and excitement – will always be our society’s hallmark event. SITC hosts interim programs throughout the year to provide focused opportunities to move new developments and initiatives forward for improving cancer patient outcomes through the advancement of science and clinical application of cancer immunotherapy.

Both of the workshops mentioned will be open to the public. Stay tuned to SITC in the New Year for additional event information, including dates and location.

Sincerely,

Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD

SITC President