This course is developed by the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) and the Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). It will review tumor immunology as the scientific foundation for the current practice of cancer immunotherapy, emphasizing fundamental principles, recent clinical advances, current limitations, and near-term opportunities for further accelerating clinical progress.
Target Audience
This course is designed for translational researchers and scientists, practicing clinicians, trainees, and individuals in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies interested in immuno-oncology and the development of immunotherapies for cancer.
Program Agenda
| 7:30-8:00 a.m. |
|
Continental Breakfast |
| 8:00-8:45 a.m. |
|
Principles of Tumor Immunity
Abul Abbas, MD
University of California, San Francisco |
| 8:45-9:30 a.m. |
|
The Tumor Microenvironment (TME)
Matthew Spitzer, PhD
University of California, San Francisco |
| 9:30-10:15 a.m. |
|
B Cells
Tullia Bruno, PhD
University of Pittsburgh |
| 10:15-10:30 a.m. |
|
Coffee Break |
| 10:30-11:15 a.m. |
|
T Cell Exhaustion
Mary Philip, MD, PhD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center |
| 11:15 am-12:00 p.m. |
|
Immune-Mediated Toxicities
Alexandra-Chloe Villani, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital |
| 12:00-12:45 p.m. |
|
Lunch |
| 12:45-1:30 p.m. |
|
Shiny New CARs
Joshua Brody, MD
Mount Sinai |
| 1:30-2:15 p.m. |
|
Tumor Vaccines
Catherine Wu, MD
Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute |
| 2:15-2:30 p.m. |
|
Break |
| 2:30-3:15 p.m. |
|
Innovations with NK Cells
Rizwan Romee, MD
Harvard University |
| 3:15-4:00 p.m. |
|
Combinatorial Therapeutics in Solid Tumors
Israel Lowy, MD, PhD
Regeneron Therapeutics |
| 4:00-4:15 p.m. |
|
Coffee Break |
| 4:15-5:00 p.m. |
|
Challenges 1: Real-Time Analysis of Tumor Immunotherapy Evasion
Shashank Patel, PhD
Immunai Corp |
| 5:00-5:45 p.m. |
|
Challenges 2: Quantitative Analysis of CAR-T Cell Pharmacology and Response
Daniel Kirouac, PhD
Notch Therapeutics |
Learning Objectives
After the course, attendees will be able to:
- Describe mechanisms of the immune response against cancer cells and how these responses are regulated during cancer development and progression.
- Describe the principles underlying chimeric antigen receptor transduced T cells (CAR-T cells) and T cell receptor (TCR)-transduced T cells and their efficacy in the treatment of leukemias and other cancers.
- Appreciate the potential opportunities and limitations of utilizing CAR-T cells for treating solid tumors and understand the development of second-generation CARs.
- Understand the biology of immune checkpoint pathways and checkpoint blockade therapy for solid tumors, the development of biomarkers to predict therapeutic responses, and the potential for combination therapies.
- Describe the unique adverse event profile associated with immune checkpoint blockade and CAR-T cell therapy, and clinical strategies for managing those immune-related toxicities.
- Understand the potential of emerging strategies for cancer immunotherapy.
2023 Course Directors
Jennifer Guerriero, PhD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Asha Pillai, MD, PhD, Regeneron