November 2016 – In this Issue
Education | Society | Forward Fund
Science, Research & Publications | Membership | Collaboration
A Message from the President
Dear Colleagues,
This is my first message to you as the new SITC President, and I am truly delighted, and enormously appreciative of everyone’s support. I am also really happy with the incredible level of energy and participation the society experienced during this month’s SITC 2016 Annual Meeting & Associated Programs in National Harbor, Maryland.
More than 2,700 delegates attended this year’s conference, the most ever, which is no doubt a sign of how exciting the science and clinical results are, but also due to the unwavering leadership of Dr. Howard Kaufman, who served as president for the previous two years. We are also indebted to the expert management of the SITC staff. The society has remained agile to the growing member base and explosion of interest in the cancer immunotherapy field while still maintaining our family atmosphere within the society. I thank them for their continued dedication and support for our cause.
Hundreds of clinicians, academicians, researchers and industry personnel converged on the Annual Meeting to present new data, share ideas, discuss the value proposition and more. We also welcomed new members from nursing and pharmacy, who are key to progress. Planning for several collaborative meetings in coming months is nearly complete, and we are well underway putting together the 2017 Annual Meeting scheduled for November 8-12, 2017.
The recently published (Nov. 15) “Consensus Statement on Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma” is another successful effort spearheaded by SITC. This guidelines document, published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), is the first evidence-based consensus statement on cancer immunotherapy treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and are a result of a multidisciplinary collaboration among academic physicians as well as nurses and individuals representing the patient perspective.
The consensus statement covers key aspects of clinical management, including patient selection, toxicity management, clinical endpoints and sequencing of therapies. It provides consensus opinion on the use of IFN-α and IL-2 in RCC, includes information on the recent FDA approval of nivolumab and summarizes recent progress in biomarker development for RCC. As new FDA approvals or significant findings from clinical trials become available, the consensus statement will be updated to reflect recommended practice changes. I would like to thank the work and commitment of the Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines Kidney Task Force.
In closing, I would like to remind our readers that today, November 29, is Giving Tuesday. As you think about your charitable giving, please consider contributing to the Forward Fund, SITC’s development fund that sponsors young investigators and senior researchers for the purpose of advancing cancer immunotherapy research. As an added incentive, all donations will be doubled through a matching gift challenge from an anonymous donor. Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD
SITC President
REGISTRATION DISCOUNTS FOR SITC MEMBERS
February 1-3, 2017 • New York, New York
The third annual Immuno-Oncology 360°, presented by the Conference Forum in collaboration with SITC, combines business and clinical development strategies with scientific updates to prepare the market for accelerating immuno-oncology (IO) clinical trials.
March 20-22, 2017 • Prague, Czech Republic
The abstract submission deadline for ITOC4, the fourth Immunotherapy of Cancer Conference, is Wednesday, December 7, 2016, midnight CET. The early registration deadline for ITOC4 is December 15, 2016. Presented by the Cancer Drug Development Forum (CDDF) in collaboration with SITC, ITOC4 will provide a forum for preclinical and clinical scientists, regulatory scientists, health care professionals and those in the pharmaceutical industry to discuss early clinical drug developments, the unique challenges of translational research and the latest innovations, such as combination therapy and biomarker development.
Learn more about discounted registration for these programs by emailing education@sitcancer.org
ADVANCES IN CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY™ ONLINE COURSES
Physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and pharmacists can now experience courses that extend the knowledge of immunotherapy as a treatment for cancer and learn about a variety of disease states through case study examples, presented by leading experts in their fields. Immunotherapy research and case studies illustrate the use of immunotherapy in clinical practice, including disease monitoring and adverse event management.
From the distinguished faculty that presented at the ACI™ regional events, the online series features selected presentations, now available for continuing education credits. If you could not attend an ACI™ event, or want to view the presentations from across the country, take advantage of viewing this cutting-edge content online.
NEW MELANOMA IMMUNOTHERAPY RESOURCE GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONALS NOW AVAILABLE
Recognizing the continued need for foundational immunotherapy education for health care professionals, SITC leaders created the Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Melanoma Health Care Professionals Guide to provide current and essential information to all those working within melanoma cancer treatment. Download this resource now.
LEADING THE WAY THROUGH THE CANCER
IMMUNOTHERAPY EVOLUTION
For more than 30 years, SITC has fought for the treatment of and a cure for
cancer through research and collaboration! Across the globe, our members are leading the charge against cancer – traversing new ground in cancer immunotherapy research. Join us in this special short film, SITC – Leading the Cancer Immunotherapy Evolution as we meet some of those thought leaders conducting critical scientific research to impact advances in both the science and clinical application of immunotherapy.
Forward Fund SITC SPARKATHON IGNITES INNOVATION
Text “SPARK” to 50555 to Donate $25
SITC Sparkathon is an exciting opportunity for early career professionals to participate in new research that contributes to the cancer immunotherapy field. Before SITC can spark innovation, the society must raise $300,000 – and we need your help!
Text “SPARK” to 50555 on your mobile device* to donate $25. Watch your gift
turn into $50 as all donations will be DOUBLED through a matching gift challenge from an anonymous donor.
Your donation will light the spark – ignite innovation – and help 30 emerging leaders explore the critical hurdles that have challenged the cancer immunotherapy field for years.
Now is the time to fire up the Sparkathon!
As a 501(c)(3) organization, donations made to SITC are tax deductible as a charitable contribution to the extent allowed by law.
*Text donations will appear on your mobile carrier statement from SITC. Text to donate not compatible with all carriers.
Amazon Smile
Missed Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday? No worries,
you can still donate to SITC in many ways!
As you continue holiday shopping, buying gifts for family and friends, consider shopping via Amazon Smile. By using the following link, 0.5% of money spent on eligible products in your Amazon shopping cart will be donated to the society.
Click here to begin shopping.
Cure T-Shirt
Purchase a “Cure” society t-shirt by donating $25 or more to the Forward Fund, SITC’s development fund established to create opportunities that advance the science, development and application of cancer immunotherapy.
Pledge Your Support
Make your donation to help advance the field of cancer immunotherapy or to honor a loved one, colleague or friend. Click here to complete an online contribution or download our pledge form.
Science, Research & Publications
IMMUNOSCORE VALIDATION PROJECT RESULTS ISSUED
This month saw the release of key results from SITC’s Immunoscore Validation Project, the society’s global biomarker validation study for the Immunoscore assay. Data from multivariate analyses, presented by Dr. Jérôme Galon at SITC 2016, illustrated the predictive value of Immunoscore in disease-free and overall survival was independent of patients' MSI status.
SITC CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY GUIDELINES PUBLISHED IN JITC
The November issue of JITC published SITC’s first evidence-based consensus guideline statement on immunotherapy treatment for renal cell carcinoma. Looking ahead, the next SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines, “The Society
for Immunotherapy of Cancer consensus statement on immunotherapy for the treatment of hematologic malignancies: multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and acute leukemia” and “The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer consensus statement on immunotherapy for the treatment of prostate carcinoma,” will be published in the December edition of JITC!
JITC – THE RESOURCE FOR CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE IN THE FIELD
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JITC is pleased to welcome Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute to the Editorial Board as the new Guidelines and Consensus Statements Section Editor. Under his leadership, this new section will highlight current or evolving clinical practice guidelines and consensus statements often written by, or in conjunction with, SITC and provide guidance to enhance clinical decision making in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Stay tuned for updates on this growing section.
Read the articles in the November issue.
JITC ACCEPTED FOR INDEXING IN MEDLINE
JITC was recently accepted for indexing in MEDLINE, the premier bibliographic database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). The MEDLINE database is directly searchable from NLM as a subset of the PubMed database, as well as through other numerous search services that license the data. It contains more than 23 million references to journal articles in the life sciences, with a concentration on biomedicine. In addition to the rigorous journal selection process, what sets MEDLINE apart from the rest of PubMed is the added value of using the NLM controlled vocabulary, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), to index citations. JITC is also currently indexed in PubMed, PubMed Central, the Directory of Open Access journals, Scopus and Thomson Reuters’ Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).
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Your membership not only supports the world’s leading resource in the cancer immunotherapy field, but enables you to engage with a growing community of practitioners, researchers, patients and patient advocacy groups through, Cancer Immunotherapy CONNECT powered by SITC, a new website launching in early 2017. Renew your membership dues today and receive exclusive access to SITC’s adaptive online learning environment where live and online educational offerings, CME activities and a collection of curated educational content related to cancer immunotherapy will be available at your fingertips at SITC’s much anticipated
new website.
Benefits include:
- Access to Cancer Immunotherapy CONNECT powered by SITC, a one-of-a-kind online community where SITC members can engage in scientific exchange through discussion boards and blog posts
- Free access to select educational activities on connectED, the adaptive online learning portal of the
new website - Access to the newly enhanced, fully categorized and searchable SITC Resource Library of enduring materials and CME activities
- Eligibility to apply for an increased number of SITC fellowships and grants
- Discounted registration rates on SITC programs
- Free access to SITC’s online member directory
- Waived article processing charges for manuscripts accepted through 2016 in JITC
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CollaborationSTAND UP TO CANCER FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
FOR YOUNG INVESTIGATORS
SU2C is making $7.5 million in research grants available to early career scientists who are pursuing innovative cancer research projects focusing on immuno-oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) announced today. Funded by a grant from SU2C Visionary Supporter, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, a total of 10 Innovative Research Grants (IRGs) will be available, each up to $750,000, over three years. Click to learn more.
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