Advocacy

SITC Policy Blog

On November, 13, 2025, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) held the ninth computational immuno-oncology webinar of series 5. This webinar reviewed some methods for extracting information on the tumor immune microenvironment from spatial imaging and spatial genomics assays. It also explored methods that relate the information obtained from different spatial assay types. View the webinar ...
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On Nov. 5, 2025, dedicated volunteers from across the country joined us in Washington, DC, bringing their passion, expertise, and personal stories to the heart of our nation’s capital. Together, they met with numerous congressional offices to share how federal investment in cancer immunotherapy is changing lives, driving new treatments, supporting scientists, and bringing hope to patients and families everywhere. Their voices carried the momentum ...
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On October 16, 2025, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) held the eighth computational immuno-oncology webinar of series 5. In this webinar, attendees explored the transformative potential of liquid biopsy approaches in cancer characterization, residual disease tracking and therapy response monitoring. Focusing on analyses of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), they reviewed how liquid ...
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On September 10, 2025, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) held the seventh computational immuno-oncology webinar of series 5. Spatial omics technologies have revolutionized cancer research, but their high cost, long turnaround times, and limited tissue capture areas have hindered widespread adoption.This webinar discussed how AI can unlock the full potential of spatial omics, driving ...
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On August 21, 2025, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) held the sixth computational immuno-oncology webinar of series 5. This webinar dove into how understanding the diverse states of cancer and tumor microenvironment (TME) cells, and their spatial and temporal interactions, is essential for advancing immuno-oncology research. This webinar delved into how computational science and ...
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On July 8, 2025, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) held the fifth computational immuno-oncology webinar of series 5. This webinar described four approaches for predicting patients’ response to checkpoint immunotherapy recently developed in Dr. Ruppin’s lab, including: (1) predicting patients’ response to the tumor bulk transcriptome, (2) predicting response directly from the blood ...
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On June 18, 2025, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) held the fourth computational immuno-oncology webinar of series 5. The webinar was structured in three parts: (1) An overview of the current landscape of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy; (2) a review of the progress made to date in identifying and defining biomarkers for ...
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The focus of this webinar on May 29th, 2025 was exploring how machine learning-driven modeling of multimodal data can be used to profile patient heterogeneity and analyze diverse immunotherapy treatments, enabling the identification of cellular and molecular markers linked to clinical outcomes. View the webinar for FREE on-demand HERE .
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This webinar on May 8th discussed how exploratory surrogate endpoints and companion diagnostics (CDX) are transforming clinical trial design in immuno-oncology, crucial for advancing personalized medicine. By incorporating these innovative approaches, researchers can gain early insights into treatment efficacy, enhancing the likelihood of successful drug approval. Join us to explore how these guidelines and best practices can shape the future of clinical ...
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SITC’s 2025 Capitol Hill Visits have officially concluded after engaging with over 25 congressional offices! During these meetings, SITC members passionately advocated for the inclusion of SITC’s FY26 appropriations language, emphasizing the need for utilizing novel technologies to advance the field’s understanding of the tumor microenvironment and AI’s potential for developing next generation immunotherapies. We extend our sincere thanks to all ...
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Dear SITC Members, The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) strongly opposes the recent actions asking for a significant reduction in staff at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As an organization dedicated to advancing the science and application of cancer immunotherapy to make the word "cure" a reality for patients, SITC is deeply concerned that these cuts are already resulting in profound and detrimental impact on the ...
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SITC is pleased to announce the kickoff of SITC’s 2025 in person Capitol Hill Visits! Over the last few months SITC members have been meeting virtually with congressional offices all across the country to advocate for inclusion of SITC’s FY26 appropriations language aimed at utilizing novel technologies to advance the field’s understanding of the tumor microenvironment and AI’s potential for developing next generation immunotherapies. These meetings ...
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This webinar on April 2 explored what b iomarker discovery for cancer immunotherapy entails using high-dimensional multi- omic assays that can be difficult to interpret, particularly in the setting of challenging clinical trial designs such as small cohort size or unbalanced response rates. This webinar therefore addressed advances in computational science and biostatistics that allow for rigorous interpretation of complex exploratory biomarker ...
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The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) is pleased to announce the publication of a comprehensive manuscript, “Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) consensus statement on essential biomarkers for immunotherapy clinical protocols” in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC). This work provides an in-depth examination of evidence-based biomarkers that measure the potential for therapeutic response and/or toxicity are critical ...
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SITC is pleased to announce the kickoff of SITC’s 2025 Capitol Hill Visits! SITC members are meeting with congressional offices to advocate for inclusion of SITC’s FY26 appropriations language aimed at utilizing novel technologies to advance the field’s understanding of the tumor microenvironment and AI’s potential for developing next generation immunotherapies. SITC members are also sharing with their representatives our recent statement regarding ...
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SITC released a statement addressing their concerns for the recent announcement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will cut billions of dollars in indirect costs for current and future grants to research institutions across the U.S. Read the full statement and find out how to push back against cuts to NIH indirect costs here .
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SITC has recently signed on to a letter from the Leukemia Lymphoma Society advocating congress to pass the Accelerating Kids Access to Care Act (AKACA). SITC joined 230 other organizations in supporting this important piece of legislation. More information on the bill as well as the final letter can be found at this LINK . #Letter #Policy
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This webinar on November 21st examined how biomarkers are used to define “PD-L1” positive patients around the globe and in resource limited settings. It provided a forum for physicians to discuss their experience assessing different criteria, as well as the solutions that were implemented to overcome specific challenges. Additionally, this topic reviewed the global availability of different platforms/clones and tumor mutational burden (TMB). View ...
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Cellular therapies offer great promise as a cancer therapy. They are living biological drugs, and often personalized, which gives them unique properties, characteristics, and great variability. These factors have made adhering to existing regulatory requirements challenging and requires significant collaboration and interactions with the FDA and other health authorities. Commercializing approved cellular therapies requires novel strategies for adoption, ...
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As part of the 39th Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2024), the SITC Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL) Symposium pre-conference program provides an opportunity for an in-depth discussion on a specific topic in the field of IO. This program will provide an overview of the path to approval for TIL therapy, current clinical management, and the impact of recent FDA-approved therapies while exploring next generation TIL and innovative ...
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SITC Co-Hosts Briefing on “The Promise of Cancer Immunotherapy”

In collaboration with the House Cancer Caucus, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) co-hosted a congressional briefing, “The Promise of Cancer Immunotherapy,” on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, in the Rayburn House Office Building. Leading experts discussed various aspects of cancer immunotherapy and the promise that lies ahead with further support from the federal government. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY), a co-chairman of the House Cancer Caucus, also delivered remarks.

Panelists included:

  • George J. Weiner, MD – University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • Marc S. Ernstoff, MD – Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • Michael B. Atkins, MD – Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • Crystal L. Mackall, MD – Stanford University
  • Kathryn Bell  –  Cancer Patient Survivor

As always, SITC encourages stakeholders in the field to reach out to members of Congress in support of funding and advancing cancer immunotherapy research.

More details and photos can be found by viewing past tweets and by searching the hashtag, #SITContheHill.



SITC co-hosts a briefing on “The Promise of Cancer Immunotherapy”

Cancer Immunotherapy Fact Sheets

Transforming Cancer Treatment

Advances in cancer treatment have evolved dramatically during the past decade, and continue to change and shape the way oncologists treat patients and train staff. Understanding cancer treatment options can be confusing for patients and their families.

In collaboration with Friends of Cancer Research (Friends), the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) has developed new value fact sheets in a language accessible by both patients and advocates outlining the pathways and unique benefits of immunotherapy compared to other cancer treatments.

Please click on the infographics below to learn more about critical data and basic information regarding cancer immunotherapy.

IO1-v4-72dpi.jpg IO2-v4-72dpi.jpg IO3-v4-72dpi.jpg IO1-v4-72dpi2.jpg

This project is supported, in part, by a grant from Pfizer, Inc./EMD Serono.

Appropriations Report Language

SITC annually drafts report language for consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations Committees to be incorporated into appropriations bills. Incorporation of report language helps advocate for funding of federal agencies supporting cancer immunotherapy research and regulation, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Cancer Institute (NCI). Continue reading below to view past language submitted on behalf of the society to the FDA and NCI.

Policy Comment Letters

SITC volunteers draft and provide comment when federal agencies offer opportunities to discuss relevant efforts that may affect the field of cancer immunotherapy. SITC comment letters ensure that the society provides a voice during consideration of policy changes that may affect cancer immunotherapy research, regulation, or reimbursement. The comment letters include those submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Please continue reading below to view past submitted letters on behalf of the society.

Contact SITC

If you have partnership or policy-related questions, please contact SITC staff at SITCExecOffice@sitcancer.org.

Archive

Read about how SITC has been active in policy and advocacy in recent years: