A Message from the President
Dear Colleagues,
As summer begins, I am happy to share news about a number of SITC initiatives that our members are involved in, addressing important aspects of our field.
First, I would like to congratulate members of the SITC Immunoscore Validation Project – whose Steering Committee is Chaired by Past SITC President Bernard A. Fox, PhD – on the recent publication of its study’s findings in The Lancet. Involving tissues banked from more than 3,500 patients and more than a dozen SITC member volunteers across 13 countries, the study showed that the Immunoscore measures of stage I-III colon cancer patients positively correlated with survival and time to recurrence. I highly recommend that you read this important publication.
Second, I would like to commend the work of the SITC Cancer Immune Responsiveness Task Force and Immune Biomarkers Committee for their effort in hosting a pair of SITC workshops earlier this month in San Francisco. More than 200 attendees contributed to discussion around the current major questions in our field which will lead directly to new initiatives for the society in these areas. Attendees also developed new collaborations to move the field forward. Stay tuned as these new initiatives are announced, and materials from these workshops become available to members and the general public later this month.
Third, I want to share the news that our highly anticipated Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines for cutaneous melanoma update published on Wednesday! First published in 2013, these clinical guidelines serve to educate a clinical audience on a disease state that was among the first to achieve significant progress via cancer immunotherapy for patients. Thank you to the Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines Cutaneous Melanoma Subcommittee for your major commitment to this effort! This melanoma manuscript is the first in our society’s series of Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines to receive an update. New guidelines in non-small cell lung cancer and head and neck cancers will publish this year in our society’s Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC).
Another way that SITC seeks to improve our field’s future is through the SITC Sparkathon. Young investigators can apply now to participate in the SITC Sparkathon Class of 2018. This team science opportunity, which will last 12–18 months, forges new collaborations among the field’s brightest early career scientists as they seek to solve an existing obstacle. These scientists will receive valuable professional development from top business coaches and SITC leadership. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 18.
The inaugural SITC Sparkathon Class of 2017, teams TimIOs and METIOR Incubator, will present their projects during the 33rd Annual Meeting this November.
Very soon, our society members will elect a new Vice President in the upcoming annual election. From June 14–28, the 2018 SITC Election will include the Vice President position and three At-Large Director openings on the Board of Directors. Learn more about this year’s candidates, who are also listed below, and please remember to vote (online voting begins June 14).
Finally, I am happy to share that current registration numbers confirm our expectations that SITC 2018 will be our society’s most highly attended yet! Register now to attend SITC 2018 and secure your housing. Also, don’t forget the deadline to submit regular abstracts, late-breaking abstract applications or applications to the Immune Escape program is 5 p.m. PDT on Aug. 1.
I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. this November!
Sincerely,
Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD
SITC President
2018 SITC Election: Polls Open June 14
Vote for 1 Vice President and 3 At-Large Directors
The society's Vice Presidency is on the ballot this year as the 2018 SITC Election will take place from June 14–28, 2018. In addition to Vice President, SITC members will help fill three At-Large Director positions via the 2018 ballot.
This 2018 SITC Election ballot includes:
SITC Vice President (1):
- Sandra Demaria, MD
- Patrick Hwu, MD
At-Large Director (3):
- Ana Carrizosa Anderson, PhD
- Vincenzo Bronte, MD
- Alessandra Cesano, MD, PhD
- Daniel S. Chen, MD, PhD
- Madhav Dhodapkar, MD
- Marcela V. Maus, MD, PhD
The newly elected SITC Vice President will serve two years in the role before he/she ascends to SITC President in 2020. Per SITC bylaws, 10 percent of eligible SITC members must participate in the election to reach quorum, so please vote beginning June 14!
Click here to learn more about this year’s candidates. To participate in the election, join SITC or renew your membership today!
SITC Immunoscore Validation Project Publishes Findings
On May 10, the SITC Immunoscore Validation Project published findings from its years-long, ground-breaking study that demonstrates the immune system's important role in colon cancer prognosis.
Published in The Lancet, “International validation of the consensus Immunoscore for the classification of colon cancer: a prognostic and accuracy study” reports that stage I-III colon cancer patients’ Immunoscores are positively correlated with survival as well as “time to recurrence” of cancer. That is, patients with higher Immunoscores had improved overall survival and demonstrated a significantly longer time to recurrence than patients with lower Immunoscores.
Click here to learn more about the SITC Immunoscore Validation Project and view the entire report.
UPDATED: SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines - Cutaneous Melanoma
The highly anticipated update to the manuscript of the SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines – Cutaneous melanoma published on Wednesday, May 30.
Published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), the consensus statement helps inform oncologists when and how to best use immunotherapy to treat their melanoma patients. Originally published in August 2013, the cutaneous melanoma manuscript is the first to be updated in the series of SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines. Learn more about these SITC clinical guidelines.
Apply Now to the SITC Sparkathon
Young investigators can now apply to the SITC Sparkathon Class of 2018. Established last year, the SITC Sparkathon selects 30 of the brightest early career scientists in the cancer immunotherapy field to identify and solve obstacles facing the field. The selected researchers will take part in a retreat, hosted by SITC, in September before continuing work on their projects, leading to an eventual presentation during the 34th Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs in November 2019.
SITC Sparkathon was inspired by an anonymous donor whose generosity makes this unique event possible. We gratefully acknowledge support from the anonymous donor and donors to the SITC Forward Fund. Donate to the Forward Fund today.
2017 Class Updates
The following are updates from the pair of teams in the SITC Sparkathon Class of 2017. Both teams will present their project’s findings during the 33rd Annual Meeting in November.
Team TimIOs
TimIOs' objective is to characterize the dynamic interactions between the tumor and the host immune system, and how these correlate with responses in patients treated with immunotherapy. Their plan is to perform an unbiased, independent analysis of data pooled from clinical trials led by multiple companies and will generate an expanded shared data set, leading to the next wave of discoveries to enhance immune responses against cancer. They have summarized published clinical trial data and developed a letter of intent that outlines their proposed analyses and sent it for review to potential industry partners. They are also working to develop collaborations for informatics hosting and data analysis.
Team METIOR Incubator
Team METIOR Incubator was split into two teams, Team Checkpoint and Team CAR-T, both aiming to answer the question: "Immunotherapy does not work in all patients, yet--Can you improve the outcome?" Team Checkpoint seeks to identify biomarkers associated with active dsRNA responses in ovarian tumors, and discover potential therapeutics that activate dsRNA and improve checkpoint inhibitor efficacy. Team CAR-T focuses on the effective translation of cancer immunotherapy from bench to bedside by creating a centralized information platform (Virtual Immune-oncology Tissue Consortium, VITC) comprising of clinical and preclinical samples focusing on immunotherapy.
#WearWhite on June 15 - Tag SITC on Social Media
In recognition of all those contributing to the cancer immunotherapy field, SITC asks you to #WearWhite on June 15. This annual celebration of the researchers, clinicians and patients contributing to the pre-clinical and clinical advances being achieved in the field, seeks individuals to wear a white top – lab coat, dress shirt, T-shirt of some kind – on June 15.
Tag SITC in Your Photos
SITC requests your group photos or selfies on June 15 to help spread awareness of all those contributing to the field! Download this flyer and add your own message describing why you are passionate about cancer immunotherapy research for the photo. Please consider using a SITC Cure T-shirt in the photo – purchase a SITC Cure T-shirt online today.
Tag SITC on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn in your social media posts, and don’t forget to use the #WearWhite hashtag! You can also email your photos to communications@sitcancer.org.
SITC is Making the Rounds: Visit the SITC Booth and Hear from us at ASCO 2018
The 2018 trade show season has kicked into high gear. SITC staff were delighted to welcome dozens of individuals, including current members, at the society's booth at the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas on May 4–8.
SITC staff will also be attending the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on June 1–5. Stop by Booth #3073 to say hello, pick up new, fun materials from the society and learn more about SITC Cancer Immunotherapy connectED, the society’s online learning portal!
Stay tuned for daily ASCO 2018 Annual Meeting scientific highlights from SITC! These detailed, emailed reports highlight those ASCO Annual Meeting research presentations of highest interest to SITC members. As was the case with the AACR scientific highlight emails, the daily reports will be sent to SITC members and available to the general public on the SITC website, SITC Cancer Immunotherapy CONNECT.
NEW VENUE: The CheckPoints at Buddy Guy's Legends on June 3
SITC’s house band, The CheckPoints, return to the stage on June 3 for the sixth-annual The Forward Fund Presents: The CheckPoints Rockin’ for a Cure Fundraiser!
The annual event moves to Buddy Guy’s Legends (700 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago) this year. Don’t get caught in line: click here to order your VIP tickets or call the SITC Development Team at 414-271-2456 for more information on how to guarantee access to see your favorite rock stars in cancer immunotherapy research. Doors for this event open at 8 p.m.