Friday, Nov. 7, 2025  | 12:30–1:30 p.m.  |  Chesapeake GHI

Exploiting Surgery-Induced Wound Healing with Immunotherapy to Eradicate Residual Disease: Spatial Transcriptomics of the Post-Surgical Landscape

Surgery remains a cornerstone of cancer care, yet how it reshapes the tumor–immune landscape after resection — particularly when residual disease persists —remains largely unexplored. Our work reveals surgical wound healing drives rapid, transient immune remodeling that can either hinder or enhance immune checkpoint therapy (ICT), depending on timing. Using spatial transcriptomics, we capture post-surgical shifts in cell localization, signaling, and crosstalk over time, revealing how surgery remodels the immune landscape which synergizes with ICT to eradicate residual disease. These preclinical insights suggest we can exploit wound healing–driven immune dynamics, providing rationale to optimize therapeutic scheduling to prevent relapse.

Rachael Zemek, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre

Friday, Nov. 7, 2025  | 12:30–1:30 p.m.  |  Chesapeake JKL

Translating population scale TCR and BCR repertoire dynamics into actionable decisions in the development of immune-modulating therapies

Join Adaptive Biotechnologies for a deep dive into the power of immunosequencing to decode the adaptive immune response. This symposium will highlight how high-resolution T and B cell receptor sequencing is transforming translational research and clinical development across oncology and infectious disease. We will showcase case studies demonstrating how repertoire profiling reveals clonal dynamics, predicts therapeutic response, and uncovers biomarkers of efficacy and resistance. Presentations will include insights from ongoing clinical collaborations and preclinical models, with a focus on how repertoire data can inform mechanism of action and guide therapeutic strategy. Attendees will gain a practical understanding of how to integrate immunosequencing into their own programs to accelerate discovery and development.

Speakers:

David Schaer, PhD
Senior Director, Bayer Science Fellow, Bayer

Stephanie Bien, PhD
Director of Translational Sciences, Adaptive Biotechnologies

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Friday, Nov. 7, 2025  | 12:30–1:30 p.m.  |  Chesapeake 7-9

Advancing Flow Cytometry in Immuno-Oncology: Real-time spatial imaging using the BD FACSDiscover™ platform of spectral flow cytometers

Flow cytometry is a cornerstone of cellular analysis in the fields of immuno-oncology and drug discovery as it offers high-dimensional single-cell analysis at high cellular throughput. This combination enables rare cell detection and the study of cell populations with high statistical confidence. However, analysis of key cellular traits, such as their spatial protein distribution and other morphological characteristics, typically requires alternative technologies with lower throughput that limit statistical confidence and cell isolation for downstream applications. Here, we present BD CellView™ Image Technology and describe how image-derived parameters enable high-throughput protein localization and morphological analysis, all within an easy-to-use platform that also offers both spectral unmixing and high-speed cell sorting. The power of BD CellView™ Image Technology will be demonstrated using several examples, including spatial analysis of CAR-T receptor distributions, cytokine accumulation assays, and the high-throughput study of cell-cell interactions – all using the BD FACSDiscover™ family of flow cytometers. 

Friday, Nov. 7, 2025  | 12:30–1:30 p.m.  |  Chesapeake DEF

Spatial Multi-Omics as the Next Frontier in Immuno-Oncology

Advances in multiplex imaging and spatial proteomics/transcriptomics are redefining how we map and model the tumor-immune landscape. AI-driven platforms such as PredxBio’s SpaceIQ™ enable the integration of these complex datasets to uncover hidden cell-state transitions, microenvironmental interactions, and spatial drivers of therapy resistance. This interactive session brings together leaders from industry and academia to explore how spatial multi-omics is transforming immunotherapy R&D; bridging discovery, translation, and clinical impact. The discussion will feature cutting-edge case studies from PredxBio and perspectives from an expert panel (Carlo Bifulco, Arutha Kulasinghe, Michael Surace, Tullia Bruno) on how spatially resolved data and explainable AI are accelerating biomarker discovery and precision oncology.

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Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025  | 12:30–1:30 p.m.  |  Chesapeake GHI

The Improved Prediction of Immunotherapy Response

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment, providing durable and even curative responses. However, most patients do not respond, and current biomarkers lack predictive accuracy. New approaches are needed to fully realize the potential of this field. This symposium will explore different strategies for the improved prediction of immunotherapy response and highlight new paths forward.

Jérôme Galon, PhD, Director of the INSERM Laboratory Integrative Cancer Immunology and developer of Immunoscore, will provide a perspective of immune-based approaches to predict immunotherapy response and Janis Taube, MD, Professor at Johns Hopkins University and pioneer in the development and clinical application of PD-L1 as a predictive biomarker, will discuss recent advancements in response prediction. Finally, Hinco Gierman, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at Elephas, will discuss a novel methodology utilizing fresh patient biopsies to predict ICI response and facilitate patient stratification for clinical trials.

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Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025  | 12:30–1:30 p.m.  |  Chesapeake 7-9

From Spatial Biology to Clinical Utility: Advancing Lung Cancer Diagnostics

Speaker: Dr. Carlo Bifulco who serves as Medical Director of Cancer Genomics and Precision Oncology at Providence Cancer Institute and as Chief Medical Officer of Providence Genomics.

Lung cancer diagnostics face a critical challenge: maximizing limited tissue samples while maintaining accuracy. Our proof-of-concept study demonstrates how multiplex immunofluorescence transforms this challenge into opportunity and integrates into existing clinical workflows. By consolidating multiple diagnostic markers into a single streamlined assay, we achieved high diagnostic concordance with traditional methods while preserving precious tissue for molecular testing. This spatial biology approach provides enhanced quantitative capabilities and comprehensive tumor profiling on a single slide. As precision medicine advances with new targeted therapies, this technology bridges the gap between cutting-edge spatial biology and practical clinical impact, ultimately improving patient outcomes through smarter diagnostics.

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Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025  | 12:30–1:30 p.m.  |  Chesapeake DEF

Redefining the Treatment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anal Canal (SCAC) | ZYNYZ® (retifanlimab-dlwr): The First and Only FDA-Approved PD-1 Inhibitor for Adults with Inoperable Locally Recurrent or Metastatic SCAC 

Learn more about ZYNYZ® (retifanlimab-dlwr), the first and only FDA-approved PD-1 inhibitor for adults with inoperable locally recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCAC). This session will provide an overview of SCAC, including disease characteristics and treatment considerations, and will feature clinical data from the POD1UM-303 and POD1UM-202 trials. These studies offer important insights into the efficacy and safety profile of ZYNYZ in this rare and difficult-to-treat cancer. Join us to explore the evolving role of immunotherapy in SCAC and its potential impact on clinical practice.

Speaker: Mohammed Al Hallak (Karmanos Cancer Institute - Detroit, MI)

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Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025  | 12:30–1:30 p.m.  |  Chesapeake JKL

LEGION-100 Phase 2 Trial Enrolling – 3rd Generation Immunotherapy for mCRPC Patients

Speakers: Charles J. Link, MD (Adjunct Professor, Lankenau Institute for Medical Research & Executive Chairman, Syncromune), Leonard J. Appleman, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Division of Hematology/Oncology), and George C. Prendergast, PhD (President & CEO, Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, Main Line Health).

Leading investigators and clinical innovators will provide in-depth insights into SYNC-T SV-102, a novel third-generation combination intratumoral/locoregional immunotherapy designed to elicit a systemic antitumor response in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

This session will showcase Phase 1 clinical results demonstrating safety, immune activation, and early signs of efficacy, highlighting how SYNC-T SV-102 is reshaping the therapeutic landscape for advanced prostate cancer.

Largely, the symposium will spotlight the LEGION-100 Phase 2 clinical trial, now actively enrolling patients and recruiting clinical trial sites across the U.S. Investigators will share insights into the trial’s design, scientific rationale, and the opportunity for institutions to partner in evaluating this cutting-edge immunotherapy.

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