JITC Letter from the Editor - November 2019

Dear JITC Readers,

You are receiving this email in the weeks after SITC’s 2019 Annual Meeting and Pre-Conference Programs. This year’s meeting was a smashing success, truly highlighting the broad spectrum of basic science and clinical and translational research in immunotherapy. It is an exciting time for the field, and we are looking forward to possibly seeing some of the data presented at the meeting in upcoming issues of JITC.

Additionally, I am delighted to announce that Dr. Jason Luke, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, has accepted the role of JITC’s social media editor! Dr. Luke will be managing the journal’s recently launched twitter handle. Be sure to take a moment to follow @JITCancer.

This month’s JITC digest exemplifies the interdisciplinary nature of immunotherapy research, with everything from basic insight into T cell metabolism and immunology to clinical trial results and next-generation sequencing.

“TLR9 acts as a sensor for tumor-released DNA to modulate anti-tumor immunity after chemotherapy” by Tae Hung and colleagues reveals new insight into how platinum-based chemotherapy can act as an immune adjuvant through innate immune danger-sensing pathways.

A review by Bridget P. Keenan et al., “Immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma: the complex interface between inflammation, fibrosis, and the immune response,” describes the delicate balance between protective immunity in the liver and pathological inflammation that may lead to cirrhosis, fibrosis and cancer.

Beatris Mastelic-Gavillet et al. elucidate how adenosine within the tumor microenvironment contributes to disease progression by metabolic suppression of effector T cells. The paper, “Adenosine mediates functional and metabolic suppression of peripheral and tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells,” outlines potential biomarkers to monitor future immunotherapies targeting adenosine signaling.

In “Systemic and local immunity following adoptive transfer of NY-ESO-1 SPEAR T cells in synovial sarcoma,” Indu Ramachandran et al. provide the first evidence for affinity-enhanced receptor engineered SPEAR T cells infiltrating solid tumors—a promising result for the treatment of synovial sarcoma and other malignancies that fail to respond to immune checkpoint blockade.

Finally, Zijun Y. Xu-Monette and colleagues undertake impressive and comprehensive ultra-deep sequencing to identify differential links between somatic hypermutation in immunoglobulin heavy and light chains and clinical outcomes in diffuse large B cell lymphomas in, “Immunoglobulin somatic hypermutation has clinical impact in DLBCL and potential implications for immune checkpoint blockade and neoantigen-based immunotherapies.”

I hope you enjoy this issue!

With best regards,

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

To view the entire November 2019 JITC Digest, please click here. 

JITC Letter from the Editor - February 2019

Dear JITC Readers,

In the February edition of the JITC Digest, there are four articles of note of which I would like to highlight. First, the article “EnanDIM - a novel family of L-nucleotide-protected TLR9 agonists for cancer immunotherapy,” by Kerstin Kapp et al. reports the development of EnanDIM® molecules, a novel family of chemically defined TLR9 agonists with the ability to activate the innate and adaptive immune systems and elicit potent anti-tumor responses without generating off-target effects. The described immunological features of EnanDIM® molecules in this study suggest the potential for combination with other immunotherapeutic approaches and prompts the need for further preclinical and clinical development.

Next, the research article, “Tumor microenvironment modulation enhances immunologic benefit of chemoradiotherapy,” by Aurelie Hanoteau et al. investigated clinically relevant in vivo models combining chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with two immunomodulatory drugs: cyclophosphamide (CTX) and L-n6-(1-iminoethyl)-lysine (L-NIL). Results demonstrated that alteration of the tumor immune microenvironment can render refractory tumors susceptible to CRT and suggests the potential for clinical translation of this approach.

Furthermore, the article, “Avelumab in patients with previously treated metastatic melanoma: phase 1b results from the JAVELIN Solid Tumor trial,” by Ulrich Keilholz et al. presents safety and efficacy data from previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic melanoma enrolled in the phase 1b, dose-expansion part of the JAVELIN Solid Tumor trial. Avelumab demonstrated durable responses and an acceptable safety profile, as well as encouraging efficacy for patients with PD-L1–positive tumors and those who had progressed after ipilimumab therapy.

Finally, Jana de Sostoa et al.’s article, “Targeting the tumor stroma with an oncolytic adenovirus secreting a fibroblast activation protein-targeted bispecific T-cell engager,” details a novel strategy to minimize the antiviral immune response needed to target cancer calls and fibroblast activation protein-alpha (FAP). By inserting a bispecific T-cell Engager (FBiTE) targeting FAP into the oncolytic adenovirus, ICOVIR15K, Sostoa’s group developed an FBiTE-armed adenovirus (ICO15K-FBiTE) shown to enhance viral spread and overall anti-tumor efficacy without increasing clinical toxicity. Similar results with a similar FAP-BiTE were reported by an Oxford-based group using the oncolytic group B adenovirus enadenotucirev (Freedman JD et al. Cancer Res Dec 15, 2018).

Additionally, I welcome you all to enjoy a new feature through SITC Connect where JITC editors share a monthly reading list of publications of interest elsewhere in the field that add value to what readers can find in JITC. Check out the first edition of “JITC’s Reading List” and stay tuned for new content from each month’s featured editor.

With best regards,

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

To view the entire February 2019 JITC Digest, please click here.