For Immediate Release
December 5, 2005
For more information, contact:
Mike Shefky at mshefky@sitcancer.org
sitc HOLDS SUCCESSFUL 20TH ANNIVERSARY
ANNUAL MEETING
Milwaukee-The International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (sitc) held a highly successful 20th Anniversary Annual Meeting at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center on November 10 - 13 in Alexandria, Virginia.
As part of the Annual Meeting, in recognition of his outstanding research, work and achievements in cancer therapy, sitc presented the inaugural Richard V. Smalley, MD, Memorial Award to Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD of the National Cancer Institute, Surgery Branch.
sitc was proud to unveil the first annual Richard V. Smalley, MD, Memorial Award in memory of Dr. Smalley's many lifetime accomplishments. This award serves as recognition of excellence in the field of therapeutic research with biological agents and is accompanied by an honorarium of $5,000. In association with this award, Dr. Rosenberg also presented a scientific lecture on Sunday, November 13 to sitc Annual Meeting delegates.
In addition, on Thursday, November 10, sitc partnered with the Cancer Vaccine Consortium (CVC) to present the Cancer Vaccine Clinical Trials Workshop. The Workshop consisted of lectures and interactive breakout sessions focused on gathering comprehensive intelligence about the state of the science of cancer vaccines and the tools used for their clinical development, as well as highlighting challenges and proposing standardized solutions for future development. Stemming from the Workshop findings, sitc/CVC plan to provide a future comprehensive scientific summary to aid in developing future guidelines for cancer vaccine clinical development supporting regulatory authorities with the aim of standardizing and governing the drug development and approval process of cancer vaccines.
sitc also announced two Presidential Award winners, Anne Letsch, MD and Ainhoa Pérez-Diez, PhD at its 20th Anniversary Annual Meeting. Anne Letsch, MD, of Charité, Campus Benjamin Franklin presented an abstract entitled "WT1-Peptide Vaccination in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia Shows High Immunogenicity Associated with Clinical Activity." Ainhoa Pérez-Diez, PhD of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) presented an abstract entitled "CD4 Cells can be More Efficient at Tumor Rejection than CD8 Cells."
Dr. Letsch and her colleagues in the laboratory of Dr. Carmen Scheibenbogen at the Hospital Charite in Berlin, Germany reported on a phase II study using a WT1-directed tumor vaccine for the treatment of patients with refractory AML. Vaccination with WT-1 peptide and KLH adjuvant in conjunction with administration of GM-CSF enhanced WT1-specific immunologic reactivity, and mediated clinical antitumor activity in a subset of patients in this difficult to treat population.
Dr. Perez-Diaz and her colleagues in the laboratory of Dr. Polly Matzinger at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD reported studies suggesting that aside from their supportive role in an expanding immune response, CD4+ T cells can mediate potent antitumor effects in some preclinical tumor models, even in models where traditional CD8+ T cells are relatively ineffective. These studies provide new insights for consideration in the design of vaccine based approaches for cancer treatment.
Both Dr. Letsch and Dr. Pérez-Diez attended the sitc Presidential Reception on Saturday, November 11, 2005 and accepted their plaques and accompanying checks from the sitc for $1,000. The two were selected as co-winners from a group of four finalists and 58 initial entries.
Once again, sitc set attendance records this year for both the 20th Anniversary Annual Meeting and its auxiliary function, the Primer on Tumor Immunology and Biological Therapy. This year's Primer attracted 182 attendees. The 20th Anniversary Annual Meeting hosted 485 attendees, while the Primer attracted 182 delegates.
2005's Primer was held on Thursday, November 10 before the Annual Meeting and served as a general education program featuring a series of basic science, industry and clinical presentations related to immunology and biological therapy of cancer.
The 21st sitc Annual Meeting is scheduled for October 26 - 29, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City, Los Angeles, California.
Founded in 1984, the International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (sitc) is an organization of clinicians, researchers, students, post-doctoral fellows, and allied health professionals dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes by advancing the development and application of biological therapy through interaction, innovation and leadership.
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