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