July JITC Articles Now Available!

Letter from the Editor

Dear JITC Readers:

Our ability to rapidly access novel cancer immunotherapy concepts in the clinic plays a major role in the development of promising therapeutics, many of which extend the lives of a great number of patients. Although these types of trials bear the potential advantage of providing fast access to promising therapeutics for patients in need, the increasing popularity of these trials has raised concerns about patient safety. In particular, it is unclear whether these studies have appropriate clinical hypotheses and proper safety protocols to allow for such rapid expansion. This month’s issue of JITC features an insightful commentary on this topic. Authored by several SITC leaders, the article reviews several case studies and proposes some strategies for meeting the challenges encountered during the design and execution of these trials. I very much hope that these propositions will find receptive stakeholders and will spur much needed discussion towards reaching a community wide consensus.

In addition, this month’s issue features three other outstanding papers. Greta Guarda and Sonia Chelbi
put into perspective a study recently published by Galaxia Rodriguez and colleagues addressing the role
of NLRC5 in melanoma. Paolo Ascierto and colleagues discuss recent advances in the use of
immune-based approaches to treat non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer,
gastrointestinal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, head and neck cancer and lymphoma, which
were discussed at the 2015 spring and winter meetings of the Campania Society of Oncology
Immunotherapy (SCITO). Lastly, Marc Schwartz, Yu Zhang, and Joseph Rosenblatt review the emerging
topic of B cell regulation of the anti-tumor response and role in carcinogenesis.

With best regards,
Pedro J. Romero, MD
Editor-in-Chief, Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer

Commentary

NLRC5, a promising new entry in tumor immunology Sonia T. Chelbi and Greta Guarda Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2016, 4:39 (19 July 2016)

From the Authors
“Downmodulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I expression is a common mechanism exploited by cancer cells to evade cytotoxic T cell responses, negatively impacting on the outcome of novel immunotherapies. Recent data published in OncoImmunology demonstrate that overexpression of the NLR family member NLRC5 in melanoma effectively induces MHC class I expression, significantly rising cancer immunogenicity and showing promise to improve immunotherapies. These data will be discussed and put into perspective.”

Greta Guarda, PhD – University of Lausanne

Cancer immunotherapy trials: leading a paradigm shift in drug development Leisha A. Emens, Lisa H. Butterfield, F. Stephen Hodi Jr., Francesco M. Marincola and Howard L. Kaufman Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2016, 4:42 (19 July 2016)

From the Authors
“Cancer immunotherapy is both transforming the care of cancer patients and revolutionizing the drug development process. Novel adaptive trial designs that rapidly evaluate drug dose and schedule, safety, clinical efficacy, and biomarkers of response have led to regulatory approvals in record time. The immuno-oncology pipeline has rapidly expanded, heralding the era of combination immunotherapies that are likely to have greater clinical benefit, but that may also have enhanced toxicities. In this commentary, we review some past experiences in the development of cancer immunotherapy, illustrating some unique adverse events observed and novel clinical considerations incorporated into the research plan. We also propose some strategies that can expedite the drug development process while maintaining the highest level of scientific and ethical rigor, ensuring that we capitalize on the unprecedented opportunities before us to safely and efficiently bring newer, even more effective cancer immunotherapies to patients.”

Leisha A. Emens, MD, PhD – Johns Hopkins University

Meeting Report

What have we learned from immunotherapy? Report from the 3rd and 4th meetings of the Campania Society of Oncology Immunotherapy (SCITO) Paolo Antonio Ascierto, Giacomo Cartenì, Cesare Gridelli, Sandro Pignata, Antonio Pinto, Carmen Criscitiello, Luigi Buonaguro, Stefano Pepe, Roberto Mabilia, Vincenzo Montesarchio, Bruno Daniele and Sabino De Placido Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2016, 4:41 (19 July 2016)

From the Authors
"While many of the initial advances in immunotherapy have been in melanoma, the focus has now broadened to include many other solid as well as hematological cancers. Recent advances in the use of immune-based approaches to treat non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, head and neck cancer and lymphoma were discussed at the 2015 spring and winter meetings of the Campania Society of Oncology Immunotherapy (SCITO).”

Paolo Antonio Ascierto, MD – Istituto Nazionale Tumori-Fondazione 'G. Pascale'

Review

B cell regulation of the anti-tumor response and role in carcinogenesis Marc Schwartz, Yu Zhang and Joseph D. Rosenblatt Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2016, 4:40 (19 July 2016)

From the Authors
"The emerging understanding of the role of B cells in modulating tumor immunity and facilitating tumor growth, and /or carcinogenesis is of critical importance as we continue to incorporate immunotherapy as a powerful tool for cancer eradication. Multiple animal and more recently studies in human solid tumors suggest that B cell subsets with immune suppressive activity are quite active in the tumor microenvironment, and that definition of their phenotype as well as mechanisms of immune suppression could lead to useful preventative and therapeutic approaches to augment anti-tumor immunity."

Joseph D. Rosenblatt, MD – University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

June Highly Accessed Articles

Immune-related response evaluations during immune-checkpoint inhibitor therapy: establishing a “common language”for the new arena of cancer treatment
Mizuki Nishino
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2016 4:30 (21 June 2016)

How do I steer this thing? Using dendritic cell targeted vaccination to more effectively guide the antitumor immune response with combination immunotherapy
Stefanie N. Linch and William L. Redmond
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2016 4:31 (21 June 2016)

2016 JITC Best Paper Awards: Submit Now

SITC will once again be offering two $1,000 USD awards for the best papers in the Clinical/Translational and Basic Science areas. To be eligible, papers must be published in JITC by August 18, 2016. Recipients of the award will be highlighted in various SITC communications and recognized in front of their peers at SITC's 31st Annual Meeting & Associated Programs. For more information, including eligibility requirements, click here.

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