The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) was founded in 1984 by 40 charter members as the Society for Biological Therapy (SBT). In 2002, members voted to change the name of the society to the International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) to reflect the concentration on cancer and embrace a more global membership. Since inception, SITC has sought to facilitate the exchange and promotion of scientific information about the use of cancer immunology and immunotherapy.
In its infancy, enthusiasm for SBT grew steadily, as promising scientific breakthroughs in recombinant DNA technology, monoclonal antibody technology and tumor immunology became budding foundations of cancer research. Researchers and scientists believed that new systemic therapeutic treatments would begin to supplant, or at the very least complement, chemotherapy in the fight against cancer. SBT intended to strike a balance of members from academia, government, industry and clinical and basic scientists, all interested in taking the new biotherapies from the bench to the bedside.
Scientific and business meetings have been held annually since the first Annual Meeting of SBT in 1986. At the 2002 business meeting, held Nov. 9, 2002, the SBT membership voted to officially change the name of the society to iSBTc. In 2010, the society changed its name to the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.
SITC currently has more than 4,650 members.