Immune Monitor - June 2026

By SITC Communications posted 6 days ago

  

A Message from the President

As Cancer Immunotherapy Awareness Month comes to a close, I’m reflecting on the remarkable progress and momentum in the field of cancer immuno-oncology. Throughout June, our community celebrated the scientific advances, collaboration and innovation that are shaping the future of cancer treatment, and I am proud of the many ways SITC helped elevate and support these important conversations.

Just last week, SITC hosted the 2026 Biotech Strategic Meeting at the New York Stock Exchange, where we set the stage for critical conversations on investing, financing, international drug development and other strategic considerations for IO biotech. As a celebration of Cancer Immunotherapy Month and the millions of patients who have benefited from immunotherapies, Dr. Zhen Su and I had the opportunity to be interviewed by NYSE TV. You can watch a recording here.

To further spotlight recent breakthroughs, we highlighted key sessions from SITC 2025 through the SITC OnDemand platform, which brings SITC educational content together in one easily accessible location. These presentations capture the depth and breadth of today’s immuno-oncology research and underscore the rapid pace at which discoveries are translating into meaningful clinical progress. We also celebrated early career investigators throughout the month by encouraging donations to the Forward Fund.

That momentum was clearly evident at the recent ASCO Annual Meeting, where cancer immunotherapy was central to many of the meeting’s most impactful discussions. Precision-based agents drew significant attention, including compelling survival data from the HARMONi-6 trial evaluating the PD-1/VEGF bispecific ivonescimab in non-small cell lung cancer. As the global phase 3 HARMONi-3 study moves forward, interest in PD-1/VEGF bispecifics continues to grow, and SITC has its finger on the pulse of this exciting discovery that will be explored further at SITC’s IO-ACT PD-1xVEGF Summit later this summer.

Additional presentations highlighted the continued evolution of cell therapy. Updated efficacy and safety data from early studies of next-generation approaches, including TIL therapy OBX-115 for melanoma and in vivo CAR T cell therapy KLN-1010 for multiple myeloma, demonstrated encouraging potential. These and other therapeutic platforms — from bispecifics to novel cellular platforms — will be examined in greater depth during SITC’s 2026 Annual Workshop, “New Agents in Development and Emerging Technologies.”

Personalized cancer vaccines also remain a major focus across the field. Durable clinical benefits from the mRNA-based personalized vaccine intismeran autogene (mRNA-4157/V940) in high-risk resected melanoma were reinforced by the five-year update of the KEYNOTE-942 study, representing one of the longest follow-up datasets for a personalized cancer vaccine to date. Early findings from NeoVax also demonstrated promise in reshaping the tumor immune microenvironment in glioblastoma, a disease historically resistant to immunotherapy. SITC looks forward to continuing these discussions during Dr. Ton Schumacher’s keynote address and Dr. Catherine Wu’s Richard V. Smalley Memorial Award and Lectureship at the SITC 2026 Annual Meeting.

Finally, congratulations are in order for SITC’s journal, The Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), and its editor, Dr. Michael T. Lotze. JITC recently received the terrific news that its 2025 Impact Factor increased to 11.7, reflecting the growing reach and citation of work published in the Journal.

As we reflect on the progress highlighted this month, we remain focused on the opportunities ahead. The discoveries emerging today are laying the foundation for the next generation of immunotherapies, and SITC remains committed to advancing the science, education, and collaboration needed to bring these innovations to patients.

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Program Spotlight
SITC OnDemand is Here
Miss a session or looking for a refresher? SITC OnDemand provides access to more than 1,300 sessions from past SITC events, including Annual Meetings, Spring Scientifics, ACIs, Comp IO and Deep Dive webinars, and more – available anytime, with new content added regularly.
As a member, you can login and start streaming right now!
SITC's EU Immuno-Oncology Drug Development Summit – Sept. 3–4, 2026 in Lausanne, Switzerland
The SITC 2026 EU Immuno-Oncology Drug Development Summit will take place Sept. 3 –4, 2026, in Lausanne, Switzerland, bringing together the European IO community to explore the next wave of IO therapeutics and accelerate the translation of innovative therapies into clinical testing. The program will feature a keynote address, Intersection of IO and Autoimmunity, by E. John Wherry, PhD. Register today to reserve your spot – space is limited.

New Special Series: Myeloid Cells in Immuno-Oncology
The complete JITC special series, “Myeloid Cells in Immuno-Oncology,” is now available. This series features expert, in-depth reviews on the roles of myeloid cells and their metabolic regulation in cancer immunotherapy and presents multiple expert perspectives on controversial and evolving areas in the field of myeloid biology.
Edited by Dmitry I. Gabrilovich, MD, PhD, Jennifer L. Guerriero, PhD, and Judith A. Varner, PhD, and developed in collaboration with The Myeloid Network, this special series builds on the momentum and enthusiasm generated by prior jointly sponsored SITC Annual Meeting pre-conference workshops and programs focused on elucidating the mechanisms and therapeutic targeting of myeloid cells in immuno-oncology.
View the Complete Series in JITC

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