A Message from the President
Dear Colleagues,
The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) first-ever, completely virtual Annual Meeting, the 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2020), begins in just a few weeks, taking place Nov. 9–14, 2020. SITC members can register to attend the entire meeting free of charge. I also encourage all non-members to confirm your registration as soon as possible, as registrations rates will increase once the conference begins. You can Click here to learn more and begin your SITC 2020 registration. Individuals who confirm their participation now and register early will have access to the SITC 2020 virtual environment beginning Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. This means delegates can log in to the platform, update personal online profiles, and begin connecting with fellow colleagues and SITC 2020 exhibitors in the two weeks leading up to the conference kick-off.
As in prior meetings, the 35th Annual Meeting will include state-of-the-art scientific presentations and exchange of new preclinical and clinical data. SITC staff have also included several features to enhance the virtual meeting experience:
- Join live Q&A with faculty at SITC 2020: Engage daily with faculty members including James Allison, PhD and Helen Heslop, MD, during SITC 2020 sessions to converse and ask questions in real time. Many sessions will feature live chat with faculty and all sessions will take questions in real-time.
- Nightly live, interactive ePoster sessions: Poster presenters will take your questions each night of SITC 2020. If you can’t make the live sessions, listen to recorded poster presentations with interactive posters on-demand. Or, contact the presenters directly in the virtual platform to set up time to chat later.
- Access to SITC 2020 enduring materials: SITC 2020 registrants will have easy, on-demand access to presentation materials from the meeting through the end of the year, so if you miss a session one day, you can access it on your own time.
- SITC 2020 Connection Lounge and Innovation Showcase: A sneak peek of SITC 2020 will be available Monday, October 26th. Your meeting profile can be set up in the Connection Lounge and you can preview “What’s New in IO” in the new Innovation Showcase.
- The CheckPointsVIP Party Pack: Join us for a special Happy Hour with The CheckPoints. Raise a glass and toast the meeting with luminaries in the field, enjoy the music, see the special guests, and play in the exclusive trivia question contest only for those attending live. And this year, you can purchase the CheckPoints VIP Party Pack during the registration process- which includes the new limited edition band T-shirt and a CheckPoints mask.
I would like to personally welcome all of those who recently joined our society, and I hope you experience many of the benefits of SITC membership in the coming months. If you had not already done so in the SITC 2020 registration process, I hope you also renew your membership for all of 2021. For student members, SITC is providing free registration to SITC 2020, and free membership for all of 2021 as a celebration of our 35th anniversary year. Just be sure to confirm your renewal during the SITC 2020 registration process.
Because of the pandemic, SITC also shifted its upcoming Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy™ (ACI) regional education programs to an entirely virtual setting. SITC has eight ACI programs scheduled through the end of this year, and each will feature expert faculty from their respective areas. I’ll be one of the organizers for the Oct. 28, 2020, program featuring fellow faculty from the New Haven, Conn., area. ACIs are CME-, CNE-, CPE- and MOC-certified, and designed to assist clinicians in providing state of the art care to their patients. The programs are free to attend for all healthcare professionals in the clinical setting, students and patient advocates. The ACI series and the full 2020 schedule can be viewed in a subsequent section of this letter.
Finally, I would like to congratulate Ana Carrizosa Anderson, PhD and Dario A.A. Vignali, PhD for publishing the Immune Checkpoints Beyond PD-1 review series that they led and developed for the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), our society’s open access, peer-reviewed online journal. The series covers the preclinical rationale for novel targets, ongoing human studies, and high-level considerations for trial design associated with immune checkpoints beyond the PD-1 axis. Congratulations and thank you to all who participated in the development of this informative series authored by leading experts in the field.
I look forward to seeing all of you during the 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs next month.
Sincerely,
Mario Sznol, MD
SITC President
Register Now for the 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs
SITC Members Attend SITC 2020 for FREE – Registration Required
The SITC 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2020) will be reimagined as a fully virtual experience this year to ensure the health and safety of attendees and their patients and registration is now open! In celebration of the society’s 35th anniversary, all SITC members are able to register for FREE access to the entire Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs. Become a SITC member or renew your membership during the registration process to take advantage of this exclusive member benefit. SITC is excited to extend this free registration offer to all members.
SITC 2020 Schedule At-a-Glance
The following are the dates and titles of this year’s pre-conference programs. Click the titles to learn more about each program’s objectives, targeted audiences and much more.
Oct. 26-Nov. 8, 2020
- SITC 2020 Preview
Visit the connection lounge during a pre-meeting preview of the SITC 2020 platform. Be among the first to establish your profile and connect with exhibitors and fellow attendees.
Monday, Nov. 9, 2020
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020
Wednesday–Saturday, Nov. 11–14, 2020
Additional SITC 2020 Activities
Support SITC 2020
Make your mark by exhibiting at SITC's 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting. This event brings together international leaders from academia, regulatory and government agencies, as well as industry representatives for unmatched education, scientific exchange and networking with the scientists driving the field. Click here to learn more about exhibiting options at SITC 2020.
Sponsor or advertise and get your message in front of an estimated 5,000 attendees. To learn more about these exciting opportunities contact development@sitcancer.org.
Register to Attend an Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy™ Live Virtual Education Program
SITC is excited to host the Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy™ (ACI) series as live virtual programs this fall. The ACI programs continue to offer healthcare professionals in the clinical setting, students and patient advocates the opportunity to learn the latest in recent clinical advancements and FDA-approved immunotherapy treatments from regional experts. The now virtual programs are easily accessed and streamed from the comfort of your own home or office with more time than ever dedicated to toxicity management and a panel-style discussion focusing on COVID and immunotherapy.
These CME-, CNE-, CPE- and MOC-certified programs are presented by local authorities in tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy. Gain intimate access to local immunotherapy leaders as they share personal experiences in the cancer immunotherapy field, answer questions and give you the information and understanding to improve outcomes for your cancer patients.
Virtual ACI Program Takeaways
In addition to networking with fellow colleagues, highlights of the program include:
- Interactive, virtual setting to connect with faculty and organizers
- Learning how to treat patients with FDA-approved immunotherapies
- A deep dive into identifying and managing irAEs
- COVID-19 considerations from the speakers’ direct experience
- Interpreting new clinical data supporting the use of checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T therapies, cytokines, oncolytic viruses and vaccines
- Learning how to employ strategies to overcome operational and reimbursement barriers to incorporating immunotherapy into your practice
- Apply foundational knowledge for clinical implementation of SITC’s Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines
- Anticipate forthcoming immunotherapy trends/treatments/trials and how they impact your patients and practices
Upcoming ACI Programs
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Date
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ACI Program City
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Registration Link
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Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020
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Washington, D.C.
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Register Now!
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Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020
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Pittsburgh
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Register Now!
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Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020
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New Haven, Conn.
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Register Now!
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Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020
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Seattle
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Register Now!
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Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020
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Tucson, Ariz.
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Register Now!
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Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020
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Tampa, Fla.
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Register Now!
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Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020
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Toronto
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Register Now!
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Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020
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San Antonio
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Register Now!
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Registration Now Open to Virtually Attend the 2020 SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School
SITC is pleased to host its third annual Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School, a comprehensive cancer immunotherapy education program, which will be held virtually on Feb. 22–24, 2021. Taught by leading experts in the field, this program provides a deep understanding of the core principles of tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy as well as developing areas in the field including biomarker technology, validation and clinical integration; clinical trial design, data analysis and considerations for combination therapies.
Winter School Organizers:
- Christian Capitini, MD – University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Leisha A. Emens, MD, PhD – UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
- Daniel Powell, PhD – University of Pennsylvania
The Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School program is tailored to early-to-mid career scientists and clinicians in the field of cancer immunotherapy working in academic, clinical, industry and government settings as well as those new to the field. The curriculum covers the fundamentals of cancer immunotherapy and features separate tracks, including clinical and research, allowing participants to tailor their experience by selecting the educational path most relevant to their learning goals.
Click here to view registration rates for this program and then register now to confirm your attendance.