A Message from the President
Dear Colleagues,
For 35 years, a primary purpose of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) – through its growth and multiple iterations – has been to bring together top scientists and clinicians in our field. SITC has served as the catalyst for these professionals to convene and share their latest research achievements, and through interaction and collaboration, to spur future advances and breakthroughs in the field.
Our organization was originally founded in 1984 by 40 charter members as the Society for Biological Therapy (SBT). In the past 35 years, much has changed, both in immuno-oncology and our society, including our name. SITC has grown with the field – eclipsing 2,400 members in 2018 – and remains at the forefront of scientific and clinical advances in cancer immunotherapy.
Beginning tomorrow, June 1, SITC will join our colleagues at the Cancer Research Institute to celebrate Cancer Immunotherapy Awareness Month™. During this month, we will bring attention to the many ways our society, through the contributions and dedication of its members, seeks to educate health care professionals and patients, and to enable research that will yield our field’s next breakthroughs. On our website and various social media channels, including Twitter and Facebook, SITC will feature a different program, resource or SITC initiative each day of the month. These activities are designed to create awareness of cancer immunotherapy and the depth and breadth of our society’s contributions to the field.
Also, on Friday, June 14, please join me in wearing white to honor and celebrate the work of the many researchers and clinicians in our field. Please consider purchasing a SITC Cure T-shirt, through a donation to the SITC Forward Fund, to wear on June 14, and then download our “Why I Wear White” flyer to share what drives your commitment to the cancer immunotherapy field. For me, every patient in my clinic who is alive today only because he or she received interleukin-2, or anti-PD-1 and or anti-CTLA-4, and every patient I see for whom these therapies were not enough to provide benefit, is another reminder of why I am committed to advancing these therapies in the clinic, and why I wear white on June 14. Take a selfie or group photo and tag SITC on social media to help us spread the word about cancer immunotherapy research.
As a final reminder, for those of you who will be in Chicago this weekend, please consider joining SITC at Buddy Guy’s Legends (700 S. Wabash Ave.) on Sunday, June 2, for the return to the stage of The CheckPoints, SITC’s house band. Doors open at 8 p.m. for The CheckPoints Party, SITC’s annual fundraiser for the Forward Fund.
Sincerely,
Mario Sznol, MD
SITC President
The CheckPoints: Rockin' for a Cure
This Sunday, June 2, 2019, at Buddy Guy’s Legends
SITC's house band, The CheckPoints, will return to Buddy Guy's Legends (700 S. Wabash Ave. in Chicago) this Sunday, June 2, 2019! Comprised of SITC members who are luminaries in the field of cancer immunotherapy, The CheckPoints have become a popular mainstay in society activities.
Doors open at 8 p.m. General Admission is a $30 suggested donation, and is available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. Come out to support SITC's Forward Fund and hear The CheckPoints play your favorite modern and classic rock hits.
#WearWhite with SITC on June 14
Join SITC members and others around the cancer immunotherapy field as we wear white on June 14, 2019, to recognize and celebrate the individuals who have contributed toward advances in cancer immunotherapy research.
Here’s how you can participate:
- Download and print the SITC “Why I Wear White” flyer
- Write your greatest purpose for wearing white on June 14
- Take a photo of yourself with the flyer and then tag SITC social media accounts in your posts online or email it to SITC staff at communications@sitcancer.org
Don’t forget to wear your SITC Cure T-shirt in the photo! Purchase a SITC Cure T-shirt online or download this order form to secure your shirt today.
New Publication from SITC's Cancer Immune Responsiveness Task Force
On May 23, 2019, SITC Cancer Immune Responsiveness Task Force members created the manuscript that published Toward a comprehensive view of cancer immune responsiveness: a synopsis from the SITC workshop in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC).
The Task Force is chaired by Francesco M. Marincola, MD (Refuge Biotechnologies), and co-chaired by Alessandra Cesano, MD, PhD (NanoString Inc.). The manuscript reports out progress achieved as a result of the 2018 Cancer Immune Responsiveness Workshop and of the task force’s subsequent efforts to date.
SITC 2018 and Winter School Enduring Materials Become Open Access in June
Enduring materials for the 33rd Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2018) and the 2019 Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School will become freely available to the general public in June.
Beginning on Saturday, June 1, individuals who are not SITC members can access SITC 2018 presentation materials free of charge via the SITC 2018 website. SITC members have had access to the materials since March 1. A record-breaking 5,000 cancer immunotherapy professionals attended SITC 2018 last November to hear the latest advances to the field, both at the clinical and pre-clinical stages.
Similarly, the enduring materials for the 2019 Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School will become open access on Saturday, June 15. In February, SITC hosted its inaugural, five-day Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School. The presentations are available via SITC Cancer Immunotherapy CONNECT.
Tailored to early career scientists, clinicians and those new to the field, the Winter School program covered the fundamentals of cancer immunotherapy and allowed participants to tailor their experience by selecting the track (clinical or research) most relevant to their educational goals.
The Winter School will return for its second year in 2020. Stay tuned in the future for more details about location, date and registration information.
Publication Announces Top 20 Immunology Articles of 2018
The Journal of Immunology has announced the 20 articles that were most downloaded in 2018. These articles address hot topics in immunology today—including a translational article on psoriasis and a guide to mass cytometry data. Several of the articles in the Top 20 are from "The Cancer Immunotherapy Revolution: Mechanistic Insights" special section in the January 15, 2018, issue.
Articles included in the list are:
Click here to review the complete list today.
