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
