Dallas Section Virtual Meeting

Topic: "Hide and Seq - Revealing Radiation-Induced Immune Responses through Sequencing of Cancer Patient Samples"

Clinical studies have demonstrated a clinical benefit for combining radiation and immunotherapy in a small number of cancer patients. These findings are supported by correlative studies showing changes to the immune landscape following radiotherapy. Yet given the limited access to patient tumors following treatment, few studies have addressed how radiation impacts immune activity within the tumor microenvironment. Here, using sequencing data from on-treatment peripheral blood and tumor samples, we will discuss how radiation remodels patient immune responses and the potential to refine strategies that combine radiation with immunotherapy to improve patient outcomes.

Speaker: Jason Muhitch, PhD, Assistant Professor, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY

The goal of my laboratory is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that limit renal cell carcinoma patient responses to immunotherapy. The laboratory’s translational studies are concentrated on enhancing anti-tumor immunity through improved myeloid cell function and cytolytic T cell activity within renal cell carcinoma. Our laboratory’s findings from a pilot trial in metastatic renal cell carcinoma combining high-dose radiation of kidney tumors with surgical resection, provide a glimpse into the immune activating effects of radiation in human cancer.