JITC Letter from the Editor - February 2020

Dear JITC Readers,

Welcome to the February edition of the JITC digest. The journal continues to grow and thrive, publishing impactful research across the entire spectrum of the diverse and interdisciplinary immunotherapy field. The articles in this month's digest highlight innovative approaches to overcoming longstanding challenges in cancer immunotherapy, and will surely spark important conversations moving forward.

I'm thrilled to report that this month's digest features three papers from one of the journal's new sections, Immune cell therapies and immune cell engineering—a burgeoning area that continues to push boundaries in terms of advancing scientific understanding and improving patient outcomes.

The highlighted articles feature somewhat "outside-the-box" cell therapy strategies, two of which could have exciting implications for the treatment of solid tumors. In elegant preclinical models, Rahul Suresh et al. demonstrate robust anti-tumor activity by adoptively transferred gene-edited immature myeloid cells. In a different tactic, the feasibility of generating PD-1-deficient effector memory T cells specific for melanoma antigens was demonstrated by Lucine Marotte and colleagues.

Although cell therapies have a well-established role in the treatment of hematologic malignancies, relapse remains common. In an attempt to improve outcomes, Benjamin Derman et al. demonstrate two effective strategies to significantly reduce and delay T regulatory cell recovery after autologous stem cell transplant in a pilot study of 15 patients with multiple myeloma.

In addition to the exciting articles in the cell therapy section, be sure to read the paper by Shibin Qu et al., describing a novel approach to tumor ablation that causes the release of non-denatured neoantigens and damage-associated molecular patterns capable of potentiating the efficacy of checkpoint blockade for non-immunogenic tumors in mouse models.

Our field keeps moving at a tremendous pace! If you'd like to join in to real-time conversations about the latest research and you're active on social media, be sure to take a moment to follow the official JITC Twitter handle, @jitcancer.  

Best regards,

Pedro J. Romero, MD
Editor-in-Chief, Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer

To view the entire February 2020 JITC Digest, please click here. 

JITC Letter from the Editor - January 2020

Dear JITC Readers,

Welcome to the first JITC Digest of 2020! The past decade has seen cancer immunotherapy advance to an incredible degree, and the pace of innovation is not looking to slow down any time soon. It is an exciting time for the field and for the journal as JITC continues to expand and evolve to serve the community.

To support our continued growth, JITC has partnered with a new publisher, BMJ, which will allow the journal to offer an improved experience for authors, editors, reviewers and readers at all steps during the publication process. You can read more about the transition in a special editorial in the January issue.

Additionally, JITC will now offer two new sections focusing on exciting emerging areas in our field: Immune Cell Therapy and Immune Cell Engineering, edited by Dr. Marcela V Maus, and Oncolytic Immunotherapy, edited by Dr. Howard L Kaufman. We’re thrilled to help usher these important and innovative approaches into more widespread clinical use.

The highlighted papers in this month’s digest truly exemplify the tremendous pace of advancement within the cancer immunotherapy field, especially in the area of immune checkpoints. When the journal was first established in 2013, no agents targeting the programmed death (PD)-1 receptor or its ligand had been approved by the FDA and now checkpoint blockade has become a mainstay in the treatment of numerous malignancies.

Kidney cancer is one such disease for which checkpoint blockade has radically altered the treatment landscape, motivating SITC to update its Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines. You can read the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer consensus statement on immunotherapy for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma by Brian Rini et al. in this issue.

And our understanding of immune checkpoints continues to progress. Almost every aspect in the translational research pipeline is represented in the manuscripts in this month’s digest, including characterization of the tumor microenvironment, pre-clinical validation for two novel checkpoint blockade strategies, and the first retrospective study of the tolerability of anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 therapy in patients with pre-existing or newly diagnosed paraneoplastic syndromes.

With best regards,

Pedro J. Romero, MD
Editor-in-Chief, Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer

To view the entire January 2020 JITC Digest, please click here. 

President's Message - August 2019

Dear Colleagues,

Since its creation in 1984, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) has steadfastly pursued its goals to advance the science and application of tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy. As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and other authorities around the world, have approved use of numerous immunotherapy treatments in recent years for a variety of cancers, education of the patient care team has become one of the most critical initiatives of our society.

To achieve its educational goals, SITC and its members have developed state-of-the-art programs, both online and in-person. An example of online resources is the SITC library of Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines. The most recent publication in this series contains clinical treatment recommendations for clinicians administering immunotherapy for patients with HNSCC and is published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC) – our open access, peer-reviewed online journal. Congratulations to the SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines Head and Neck Subcommittee for authoring this important consensus statement.

For in-person education, the Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy™ (ACI) regional programs have been particularly effective and popular. Approaching its seventh year, ACIs are held in 15 communities around North America each year, and include national and local experts on cancer immunotherapy across the disease spectrum. SITC will again offer the program free of charge for healthcare professionals in the clinical setting, students and patient advocates ACI programs provide:

• In-depth information on treating patients with FDA-approved immunotherapies
• Analysis and interpretation of new clinical data supporting the use of checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T therapies, cytokines, oncolytic viruses and vaccines
• Education enabling clinicians and other health care personnel to more effectively identify and manage immune-related adverse events
• Strategies to overcome operational and reimbursement barriers to incorporating immunotherapy into practice

I’ve served as an ACI faculty member myself, and seen first-hand SITC’s ability to draw from a vast network of scientific and clinical experts to provide an outstanding educational program. Attendees acquire a better understanding of current practices and known challenges to administering cancer immunotherapy treatments. All ACIs are CME-, CNE-, CPE- and MOC-certified, assisting clinicians in providing state of the art care to their patients.

Beginning in September and through March 2020, SITC will bring its ACI program to 15 cities around North America. Registration is currently open for Cleveland (Sept. 5), Chicago (Sept. 28), Boston (Oct. 10), Buffalo, N.Y. (Oct. 26) and Nashville, Tenn. (Dec. 4). Remaining cities that will host an ACI in the coming year include: Philadelphia; San Francisco; Birmingham, Ala.; Charlotte, N.C.; San Diego; Washington, D.C.; Tampa, Fla.; Tucson, Ariz.; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and San Antonio. Stay tuned to the SITC website for dates and registration information on upcoming ACIs.

Finally, I’d like to share a quick reminder that we are nearly a month out from SITC’s upcoming interim workshops on cancer immune responsiveness (Sept. 4-5) and adoptive cellular therapies (Sept. 5-6) in Houston. The deadline to save money on housing is Wednesday, Aug. 14, with online registration closing Wednesday, Aug. 28, so don’t hesitate in securing your spot for these engaging scientific and clinical workshops. I hope to see you in Texas!

Sincerely,

Mario Sznol, MD
SITC President

President's Message - August 2018

Dear Colleagues,

Cancer immunotherapy education is important even in the summertime. The FDA continues to grant immunotherapeutic approvals in new disease states, as well as integrate tumor biomarker status into indications. The most recent examples of approvals include pembrolizumab for PD-L1-positive cervical cancer patients and combination nivolumab and ipilimumab for patients with MSI-H/dMMR-positive colorectal cancer.

Therefore, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) will soon begin the sixth year of its Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy™ (ACI) series. These regional education programs based in academic medical centers and in online education provide opportunities for healthcare professionals – particularly those in the community setting – to get up to date on immunotherapy and discuss patient management.  SITC will host 15 ACI programs throughout the United States and Canada during the 2018-19 series featuring disease-specific sessions on lung cancer, melanoma, head and neck cancers, genitourinary cancers and hematologic malignancies. These 4.5-hour programs are CME-, CNE- and CPE-certified programs presented by the local experts in tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy. Clinicians, students and patient advocates may attend for free. Note that registration is now open for the ACI in Madison, Wis. (Sept. 6, 2018) and Boston, Mass. (Sept. 27, 2018) (we’ll continue to announce future dates and locations). The Sept. 6 ACI will also be live streamed, so you can attend from wherever you are!

On July 17, SITC published the highly anticipated, “The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer consensus statement on immunotherapy for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC),” the society’s sixth manuscript of the series, in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), the society’s open access, peer-reviewed online journal. The guideline includes recommendations on treatment scheduling concerning the most recent U.S. FDA-approved immunotherapies, a discussion about late-breaking data from 2018, the use of predictive biomarkers including PD-L1 and tumor mutational burden and managing immune-related adverse events. A big thank you and congratulations to the SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines NSCLC Subcommittee, chaired by Roy Herbst, MD, PhD (Yale Cancer Center), and co-chaired by Julie Brahmer, MD (Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins), Ramaswamy Govindan, MD (Washington University School of Medicine), and Naiyer Rizvi, MD (Columbia University Medical Center), for this important contribution to the field.

SITC will host a one-hour, free webinar on Thursday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. EDT, featuring members of the NSCLC Subcommittee. This webinar will review the guidelines and provide a unique Q&A forum between participants and faculty.

Lastly, SITC is about to announce a new educational initiative that I am particularly excited about, the “2019 SITC Winter School.” Planned for February 2019 in Phoenix, Ariz., SITC Winter School will educate early career scientists and physicians about the core principles of cancer immunotherapy, biomarker technologies, clinical trial design, grant writing and more, over an intensive and interactive five-day program.

I hope that you all enjoy the rest of your summer.  It’s a great time to catch up on all things immunotherapy!

Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD
SITC President

President's Message - July 2018

Dear Colleagues,

Let me begin by congratulating everyone who contributed to the exciting achievement of the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's (SITC) open access, peer-reviewed online journal, on its first impact factor of 8.374!

As many of you know, an impact factor – a calculation of the number of citations a publication's articles received in a year by the total number of articles published – quickly communicates to prospective authors the reach and quality of research a publication possesses. The JITC impact factor is the next big step toward an even brighter future for our society's online publication.

Much of the credit goes to JITC Editor-in-Chief Pedro J. Romero, MD, and the many SITC member experts who serve as section editors and reviewers on the journals' Editorial Board. However, JITC would not be what it is today – or further, what it is becoming – without the contributions from the many authors who have submitted their field-changing research to JITC.

Now, five years after our society's launch of JITC, this achievement provides significant validation to the journal as a premier destination for cancer immunotherapy research. I encourage all prospective authors in our field to submit to JITC when considering a venue for your work.

Among the most valuable of JITC's publications are the consensus statements submitted as part of the SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines. These immunotherapy treatment recommendations play a critical role in educating oncologists and other members of the patient care team on current standards involving U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved cancer immunotherapy treatments for a growing list of disease states. SITC expanded its Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines offerings in May when it updated its recommendations on cutaneous melanoma. A manuscript on non-small cell lung cancer is slated to publish in JITC next month.

We're also disseminating these guidelines broadly to increase access. This includes a new, interactive series of SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines Webinars. These live events will take place approximately two months after manuscript publication and will allow authors to go further in-depth about the treatment recommendations, answer questions and discuss any late-breaking advances in the field since publication.

The first SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines Webinar will take place Monday, July 30, 6–7 p.m. EDT, focusing on the recent update of the guidelines for cutaneous melanoma. Click here to register for this free opportunity.

The need for ongoing education for clinicians about the latest advancements in immunotherapy for cancer has never been greater. At the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) 2018 Annual Meeting, SITC staff fielded numerous questions from attendees, and served as a resource to many visitors of our society's booth at ASCO 2018. If you would like to review highlights of the meeting, SITC published daily scientific reports from the ASCO Annual Meeting, log in to your SITC CONNECT account to access our staffreports from each day of the meeting.

In closing, as you enjoy a little lull in your scientific activities over the summer, and write up the results of your recent studies, I hope you will send those data to JITC, where the new 8.374 impact factor will assure great exposure to your colleagues.

Sincerely,

Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD

SITC President

President's Message – June 2018

Dear Colleagues,

As summer begins, I am happy to share news about a number of SITC initiatives that our members are involved in, addressing important aspects of our field.

First, I would like to congratulate members of the SITC Immunoscore Validation Project – whose Steering Committee is Chaired by Past SITC President Bernard A. Fox, PhD – on the recent publication of its study's findings in The Lancet. Involving tissues banked from more than 3,500 patients and more than a dozen SITC member volunteers across 13 countries, the study showed that the Immunoscore measures of stage I-III colon cancer patients positively correlated with survival and time to recurrence. I highly recommend that you read this important publication.

Second, I would like to commend the work of the SITC Cancer Immune Responsiveness Task Force and Immune Biomarkers Committee for their effort in hosting a pair of SITC workshops earlier this month in San Francisco. More than 200 attendees contributed to discussion around the current major questions in our field which will lead directly to new initiatives for the society in these areas. Attendees also developed new collaborations to move the field forward. Stay tuned as these new initiatives are announced, and materials from these workshops become available to members and the general public later this month.

Third, I want to share the news that our highly anticipated Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines for cutaneous melanoma update published on Wednesday! First published in 2013, these clinical guidelines serve to educate a clinical audience on a disease state that was among the first to achieve significant progress via cancer immunotherapy for patients. Thank you to the Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines Cutaneous Melanoma Subcommittee for your major commitment to this effort! This melanoma manuscript is the first in our society's series of Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines to receive an update. New guidelines in non-small cell lung cancer and head and neck cancers will publish this year in our society's Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC).

Another way that SITC seeks to improve our field's future is through the SITC Sparkathon. Young investigators can apply now to participate in the SITC Sparkathon Class of 2018. This team science opportunity, which will last 12-18 months, forges new collaborations among the field's brightest early career scientists as they seek to solve an existing obstacle. These scientists will receive valuable professional development from top business coaches and SITC leadership. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 18.

The inaugural SITC Sparkathon Class of 2017, teams TimIOs and METIOR Incubator, will present their projects during the 33rd Annual Meeting this November.

Very soon, our society members will elect a new Vice President in the upcoming annual election. From June 14–28, the 2018 SITC Election will include the Vice President position and three At-Large Director openings on the Board of Directors. Learn more about this year's candidates, who are also listed below, and please remember to vote (online voting begins June 14).

Finally, I am happy to share that current registration numbers confirm our expectations that SITC 2018 will be our society's most highly attended yet! Register now to attend SITC 2018 and secure your housing. Also, don't forget the deadline to submit regular abstracts, late-breaking abstract applications or applications to the Immune Escape program is 5 p.m. PDT on Aug. 1.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. this November!

Sincerely,

Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD

SITC President

President's Message – January 2018

Dear Colleagues,

This month, I wanted to update you all on some of the ways that the society fulfills its mission. As a reminder, the mission of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) is to improve cancer patient outcomes by advancing the science, development and application of cancer immunology and immunotherapy.

President's Message – March 2017

As I write this message on International Women’s Day, I am honored to contribute to the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) as its first female President, hopefully paving the way for future women in science to do the same. Choosing a career in science has been extremely rewarding, especially as a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute where women routinely serve as department chairs, program leaders and SPORE PIs.

My career path has not been without challenges – as my female colleagues would agree – navigating a male dominated field can be challenging at times. However, as more women progress through the field, there are more mentors from whom to learn, more formal leadership training sessions and more flexible work environments and tenure clocks. Observing a woman in a leadership position of any type sends a powerful message to women everywhere – next time it could be you.

As we all continue to move the field forward with our unique skills and talents, I encourage you to visit SITC's 32ndAnnual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (November 8-12, 2017) microsite which is now live for society members to register and secure housing. In addition, the call for abstracts period is now open for everyone. This is a great opportunity to showcase your latest research at the largest conference solely focused on cancer immunotherapy. It is going to be another outstanding meeting! www.sitcancer.org/2017

Finally, SITC’s Call for Comment on the “Consensus Statement on Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Bladder Carcinoma.” In line with other publications in SITC’s Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines series, this Consensus Statement was developed by experts in the field and provides key indicators to help practicing oncologists determine when and how to use immunotherapy when treating patients with bladder cancer. Specifically, these guidelines focus on selecting patients for treatment, managing toxicities, determining clinical endpoints and guiding appropriate sequencing or combination of therapies in the setting of bladder cancer. We welcome participation from SITC members in the development of these guidelines. Provide your feedback on this important SITC initiative before the Open Comment period ends at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 20, 2017.

Sincerely,











Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD

SITC President

President's Message – February 2017

Dear Colleagues,

We have seen tremendous progress in the field of cancer immunotherapy in recent years, and the potential exists to improve the benefits obtained with monotherapy by combining drugs with complementary mechanisms of action. Well over 500 trials of immune-based combination therapies are underway; coupled with increasing opportunities for collaboration between the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, government and academia, the field is at an exciting juncture where the potential for improved therapeutic options has never been greater.

To this end, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) Combination Immunotherapies Task Force has just published a white paper entitled; “Combination immunotherapy: a road map”, in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. Building on previous work in this area, the article explores the most important hypothesis-driven prospects for combination therapies. Going beyond this, however, it addresses the applicability of mouse models for drug testing; safety considerations in early clinical testing; the need for innovative, flexible early phase clinical trial designs; and appropriate safety and efficacy endpoints for early phase clinical trials, all specifically in the setting of combination immunotherapy. With greater understanding of these agents’ mechanisms of action – and of the counter-defense mounted by tumors – we anticipate novel combinations will increase the number of patients who respond to immunotherapy, the tolerability of treatments, and the duration of treatment response.

The field took a big step forward with the FDA’s recent approval of nivolumab for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma following progression on a platinum-containing chemotherapy. Nivolumab is the second immunotherapy (and first PD-1 targeted agent) approved in this setting and provides another much needed option for patients with advanced disease. In light of this recent progress and the growing number of drug approvals, SITC is developing a Cancer Immunotherapy Guideline for bladder cancer to meet the growing demand for expert advice on the optimal use of immunotherapy in this setting. Please watch for an announcement in the coming weeks for a Call for Comment on the manuscript. We encourage all SITC members to take advantage of the opportunity to provide feedback on this important guidelines document.

Finally, with regard to recent events, SITC is committed to ensuring our members and stakeholders from all over the world are able to participate in our scientific exchange and networking opportunities, access our educational meetings and resources, and participate in work that all moves the cancer immunotherapy field forward. We will continue to monitor events closely and support our members.

On behalf of the society, thank you for your support of SITC and your efforts for the cancer immunotherapy field.

Sincerely,

Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD

SITC President