Home  |  About SITC  |  Contact Us

SITC Hot Topic Symposium

PD-1/PD-L1: Right on Target

Sunday, October 28, 2012 | 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
North Bethesda, MD

Program Purpose

Each year immediately following the conclusion of the SITC Annual Meeting, the Society hosts a 1½ hour Hot Topic Symposium to address a rapidly developing key issue in the field of cancer immunotherapy. In this final program, leaders in the field deliver dy­namic presentations on cutting-edge research and participate in interactive question and answer sessions with the audience. This year, the Hot Topic Symposium explored the latest scientific and clinical data on drugs and drug combinations targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint pathway.

Immune checkpoints in the tumor microenvironment are potent mediators of local immunosuppression, and blockade of these pathways can rejuvenate antitumor immunity leading to tumor elimination. Clinical translation based on the prototypical checkpoint receptor, CTLA-4, has opened the door to a rich pipeline of related but nevertheless unique compounds. The PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint pathway has recently emerged as a valid target for cancer immunotherapy; extending the reach of immunotherapy into common epithelial malignancies.

Intended Audience

The audience for this program was basic and clinical investigators from academic institutions, industry and regulatory agencies, including clinicians, basic and translational researchers, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and allied health professionals involved in cancer research.

Program Goals

• Review the most current data on the negative regulatory influence and mechanism of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in the tumor microenvironment.
• Describe treatment strategies targeting this pathway, including monotherapies and combination therapies in a broad range of indications beyond melanoma.
• Present the latest clinical results with drugs designed to block the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway.

Expected Learner Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, the participants were able to:

• Describe the cellular and molecular attributes of the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitory pathway.
• Discuss current research strategies targeting this pathway in cancer therapy.
• Summarize the current results from clinical trials of PD-1/PD-L1 pathway inhibitors.

Organizers

Ira Mellman, PhD - Genentech
Suzanne L. Topalian, MD - Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine