Outsourcing in Clinical Trials (ARENA), 2017

Cancer immunotherapy—the use of the immune system to treat cancer—is one of the most promising therapies to emerge since the development of chemotherapy in the mid-twentieth century. Harnessing the body’s own innate defense mechanisms to attack cancer cells has demonstrated potential for developing treatments that are not only more efficacious (including long-lasting remissions and progression-free survival rates), but also more precise. Importantly, increased precision may reduce the toxicity that is often experienced with current pharmaceutical interventions. Different immunotherapeutic approaches, ranging from activating the patient’s own immune response to attack cancer cells to neutralizing mechanisms designed to regulate and suppress patient’s immune systems, are increasingly implemented in the regimen of oncology clinical care with positive results.

This 2-day scientific symposium will explore emerging findings in basic science, translational research, and clinical studies to improve immunotherapeutic approaches in cancer treatment. The event will convene basic, preclinical, and clinical researchers active in the field of cancer immunotherapy, alongside industry representatives and government stakeholders. Dr. Padmanee Sharma, Professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and of Immunology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, will commence the conference with a Keynote Address. Plenary speakers will present on an array of topics, including: the evaluation of combination therapy strategies to improve clinical benefit; the development of immune-monitoring strategies for the identification of relevant prognostic and predictive biomarkers; the development of strategies to overcome immune tolerance; and the incorporation of genomics into immunotherapeutic research and clinical trials.