Immune cell therapies have fundamentally altered the paradigm of cancer care. The first generation of these treatments confirms that ex vivo manipulation of immune cells can provide meaningful clinical response. However, many barriers to broader success remain. Among the most critical unsolved problems in this field is achieving consistent success in the treatment of solid tumors, hindered by the need for immune cell trafficking, infiltration into the microenvironment and overcoming immune suppression.

This conference will highlight recent advances in mechanistic understanding of the immune: cancer interface and developments in technology that enable the design of more effective immune cell therapies. The program will feature an explosion of activity from both academic and industry investigators, with regards to isolating the many biological limitations of existing treatments and innovative strategies to overcome them and improve patient outcomes. Specifically, we will explore how cancer cells evade current cell therapies, revealing the core biological pathways that lead to treatment failure. Additionally, we will cover advanced genome and protein engineering methods, and how they can be applied to improve immune cell function and enable greater precision of cellular therapies.

The program will also take a broader view beyond oncology and T-cell based therapies to explore applications against autoimmune diseases as well as emerging advances in engineering other immune cell types. Finally, we will address health equity issues in the field, and discuss ways to ensure equitable access to these potentially life-saving therapies across diverse communities, which is of critical importance.

This conference will be held jointly with the Keystone Symposium on Cancer Immunotherapy: Clinical Lessons to New Modalities to enable cross-disciplinary insights and collaborations towards better outcomes for all cancer patients.