Immune Exclusion Virtual Summit

Summit Overview

Program Summary

SITC hosted the Immune Exclusion Virtual Summit on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, from 12–5 p.m. EDT. The summit was a free, public event that featured invited speakers, expert panel discussions, and attendee question and answer periods. The multi-stakeholder virtual summit featured over 25 panelists representing academic research and industry from around the world. The SITC Immune Exclusion Virtual Summit highlighted the latest research on the mechanisms of immune exclusion among different tumor types and molecular tools available to study immune-excluded tumors. Topics addressed at the summit included the pathology and clinical and therapeutic implications of immune exclusion, mechanisms of immune exclusion, diagnostics for immune exclusion, and current therapeutic strategies for immune exclusion.

The SITC Immune Exclusion Virtual Summit highlighted the current understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying immune exclusion and the tools available to study immune-excluded tumors. This open-door virtual educational event presented the state of the field and featured participation of invited stakeholders involved in this field, including clinicians, pathologists, and researchers from academia and industry.

Problem Statement

Immune-excluded tumors, characterized by lymphocytes that surround the tumor but fail to penetrate it, represent about one-third of cancers. The mechanisms underlying immune exclusion remain unclear but may include some combination of physical and/or functional barriers that prevent infiltration of immune cells into the tumor. Defining the unique biology of immune-excluded tumors and elucidating the mechanisms underlying immune exclusion will identify new strategies for cancer immunotherapy, especially in the field of adoptive cellular therapy.

Summit Goals and Objectives

The primary objective of the SITC Immune Exclusion Virtual Summit is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of immune exclusion in distinct tumor types. Secondary goals include exploring how exclusion biology manifests in different tumor types; reviewing molecular tools available to study immune-excluded tumors; and defining the unique biology of immune-excluded cancers relative to immune-infiltrated and immune-desert tumors.

Summit Agenda

  Welcome and Introduction: Problem Statement and Goals
   12-12:05 p.m.    Leisha A. Emens, MD, PhD – Ankyra Therapeutics – SITC President
Setting the Stage
   12:05-12:25 p.m.    Pathological Perspective: What is Immune Exclusion?
   Hartmut Koeppen, MD, PhD – Genentech
   Jakob Kather, MD, MSc – Else Kroener Fresenius Center for Digital Health
   12:25-1:05 p.m.    Clinical Implications: Why is This Important? Therapeutic challenges?
   Ryan Sullivan, MD – Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital
    Karin Jooss, PhD – Gritstone Oncology 
    Steve Katz, MD – TriSalus Life Sciences
    Myriam Chalabi – Netherlands Cancer Institute
   1:05-1:15 p.m.    Overview of the Current Mechanistic Understanding of Immune Exclusion
     Sara Pai, MD, PhD – Yale University School of Medicine
   1:15-1:30 p.m.    Panel Discussion

Moderator: Sara Pai, MD, PhD – Yale University School of Medicine
 





    Hartmut Koeppen, MD, PhD – Genentech
   Jakob Kather, MD, MSc – Else Kroener Fresenius Center for Digital Health
   Ryan Sullivan, MD – Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital
   Karin Jooss, PhD – Gritstone Oncology 
    Steve Katz, MD – TriSalus Life Sciences
    Myriam Chalabi – Netherlands Cancer Institute
   1:30-1:40 p.m.
    Break
  Panel 1: Mechanisms of Immune Exclusion
   1:40-2:30 p.m.
    Mara Sherman, PhD – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
 
 Moderator: Davide Bedognetti, MD, PhD – Kite Pharma
 
 		    Dmitriy Zamarin, MD, PhD – Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
   Elad Ziv, MD – University of California San Francisco
   Vincenzo Bronte, MD – Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS
   Jason Luke, MD, FACP – UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
  Panel 2: Tools to Understand Immune Exclusion
   2:30-3:20 p.m. Carlo Bifulco, MD – Providence Genomics

 Moderator: Christine Moussion, PhD – Genentech
 
 		 Siraj Ali, MD, PhD – Lunit
Christine Moussion, PhD – Genentech
   3:20-3:30 p.m.    Break
  Panel 3: Diagnostics for Immune Exclusion
   3:30-4:10 p.m.    Janis Taube, MD, MSc – Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
 
 Moderator: Sarah Warren, PhD – Kite Pharma
 
 		    Jerome Galon, PhD – Sorbonne Universite Paris
   Elisabeth de Vries, MD, PhD – University Medical Center Groningen
   Wolf Fridman, MD, PhD – Cordeliers Research Centre
  Panel 4: Therapeutic Strategies for Immune Exclusion
   4:10-4:50 p.m.    Daniel Powell, PhD – University of Pennsylvania
 
 Moderator: Dan Chen, MD, PhD – Engenuity Life Sciences
 		    Kristina Young, MD, PhD – Earle A. Chiles Research Institute
   Jean-Philippe Girard, PhD – Inserm
   4:50-5 p.m.
     Sara Pai, MD, PhD – Yale University School of Medicine
    Dan Chen, MD, PhD – Engenuity Life Sciences


Program Organizers

Leisha A. Emens, MD, PhD

Co-Chair

Leisha A. Emens, MD, PhD
Ankyra Therapeutics

Dan Chen, MD, PhD

Co-Chair

Dan Chen, MD, PhD
Engenuity Life Sciences

Davide Bedognetti, MD, PhD

Davide Bedognetti, MD, PhD
Kite Pharma

Nils Lonberg, PhD

Francesco Marincola, MD
Sonata Therapeutics

Sara Pai, MD, PhD

Sara Pai, MD, PhD
Yale University School of Medicine

Sarah Warren, PhD

Sarah Warren, PhD
Kite Pharma

Christine Moussion, PhD

Christine Moussion, PhD
Genentech