LETTER FROM THE EDITOR - JULY

 Hello JITC Readers,

Welcome to the latest edition of the JITC Digest. This month we are excited to spotlight our new Imaging and Immunotherapy review series, edited by Elisabeth GE de Vries and Lawrence H Schwartz. This timely review series features discussion on novel emerging imaging strategies, innovative approaches to the analysis of conventional modalities such as artificial intelligence and radiomics, and special considerations for radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and imaging. You can read the introductory editorial to the series as well as the first few reviews at the collection page on the JITC site. Check back throughout 2022 for more publications.

Our original research article highlight this month includes four exciting papers that make progress toward overcoming longstanding challenges in our field: eliciting systemic immune responses to local therapy and serum-based biomarkers for tumor response. 

Robert B Rebhun and colleagues report a clinical benefit rate of 39% with minimal systemic toxicity in a first-in-canine phase I clinical trial evaluating inhaled recombinant human IL-15 for the treatment of spontaneous melanoma or osteosarcoma in companion dogs. 

Regression of untreated lesions in murine melanoma models with local injection of a hydrogel carrying a lysate of the bacterial immunotherapy Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin is described by Mirela Kremenovic et al.

An almost 80% overall response rate to checkpoint blockade in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma identified as microsatellite instability-high through ctDNA analysis is observed in a retrospective analysis by Sakti Chakrabarti and colleagues. 

Michal Harel et al leverage machine learning and longitudinal plasma proteomic profiling to identify a signature based on age, sex, and on-treatment serum levels of CXCL18 and CXCL10 to predict benefit with anti-PD-1 in non-small cell lung cancer. 

If you’re looking for more reading material, this month’s selections from JITC’s archives include some of the top case reports and commentary/editorials over the years.

Best wishes,

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