About the Annual International Cancer Immunotherapy Symposia Series
The Institute’s Annual International Cancer Immunotherapy Symposia Series, established in 1991, has long been considered by many to be "the Davos of cancer immunology," where the world's scientific leaders in immunology and tumor immunology gather together to shape the future course of cancer research. These annual meetings focus attention on progress in cancer vaccines and antibody-based therapies, the two central approaches of cancer immunology. Over the course of three days, researchers involved in the discovery and development of immune-based therapies for cancer share information, stimulating new ideas and collaborations that could benefit the development of experimental cancer immunotherapies.
About This Year’s Meeting
This year’s meeting, Control of Cancer Immunosuppression: A Challenge for Cancer Vaccine Development, was held September 30 through October 2, 2009, at the Millennium Conference Center in New York City. Approximately 335 immunologists and tumor immunologists from more than 150 academic institutions and biotech or pharmaceutical companies around the world attended. The focus of this symposium was cancer immunosuppression, which cancer vaccine researchers have identified as one of the most important challenges to effective immunotherapy against cancer.
Cancer Immunosuppression
A defining characteristic of cancer is its ability to avoid elimination by the immune system. One of the ways tumor cells accomplish this is by suppressing immune system activity at the tumor microenvironment either through direct molecular signaling or by recruiting other immune system regulators to protect the tumor. The effectiveness of cancer vaccines that seek to stimulate anti-tumor immune responses, therefore, is limited by the level of immunosuppression at the tumor site.
Dr. Lloyd Old, director of the Cancer Research Institute Scientific Advisory Council, has stated that “control of cancer immunosuppression is the major challenge to cancer vaccine development.” Recently, a number of investigational antibodies and other compounds capable of blocking immune system suppression have entered clinical trials as monotherapies for cancer patients. These “modulators of immunity” (MOIs) have demonstrated success at improving the anti-tumor immune response.
Tumor immunologists believe incorporation of such MOIs into the design of therapeutic cancer vaccines will significantly improve the effectiveness of cancer vaccination and cancer immunotherapy as a whole. Understanding how to manipulate and control immunosuppression, therefore, is crucial to advancing the next modality of cancer therapy. Our September Symposium was dedicated almost entirely to the ongoing developments within the study of cancer immunosuppression and its control.
Download the 2009 CRI Symposium Abstract Book
About Last Year's Meeting
Cancer Immunology & Immunotherapy 2008: From Discovery to Development to Drug
View summaries and abstracts of speaker presentations, listen to audio recordings from the meeting, download a PDF copy of the meeting program including poster abstracts, see photos, and more.