Oncolytic viruses targeting tumor stem cells.

A workshop "Targeting Oncolytic Viruses to Tumor Stem Cells," organized by the Division of Cancer Biology, NCI, NIH, was held on September 6, 2013 in Rockville, MD. Seventeen invited experts presented an overview of their current research in this area and discussed the state of current research on the use of oncolytic viruses targeted to stem cells as a potential cancer therapy. The goal was to evaluate the evidence that this approach might increase the efficacy of oncolytic virus therapy and to identify gaps in knowledge that have retarded progress in this area.

Metabolic reprogramming of the immune response in the tumor microenvironment.

A Division of Cancer Biology, NCI sponsored workshop, Metabolic Reprogramming of the Immune Response in the Tumor Microenvironment, was held October 2nd in Bethesda, MD. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together cancer cell biologists and immunologists to explore the mechanistic relationships between the metabolic pathways used by cancer cells and anti-tumor immune cells and how this information could be used to improve cancer immunotherapy. At the conclusion of the workshop a general discussion focused on defining the major challenges and opportunities concerning the impact of metabolism on anti-tumor immunity and cancer immunotherapy as well as what tools, technologies, resources or community efforts are required to accelerate research in this area. Overall, future studies need to consider how cancer cell metabolic pathways differ from activated lymphocytes in order to define a therapeutic window for cancer therapy. Further, studies aimed at reprogramming the metabolic qualities of T cells with the goal of improving immunotherapy were considered a promising avenue.

Tumor antigen targets and tumor immunotherapy.

Tumor immunology and immunotherapy attempt to use the exquisite specificity and lytic capability of the immune system to treat malignant disease with a minimum of damage to normal tissue. Increasing knowledge of the identity of tumor antigens should point the way to effective therapeutic vaccines or more specific immunotherapeutic strategies. Tumors, however, have evolved mechanisms to inactivate cytolytic T-cells and other immune responses targeting tumor antigens. The current goal of immunotherapy research is to use contemporary advances in cellular and molecular immunology to develop strategies to overcome the disabling effects of the tumor microenvironment on the immune system attack against tumor antigen targets. This review will summarize our current knowledge of the spectrum of tumor antigen targets available for immune recognition in cancer, the obstacles to tumor immunotherapy, the use of adoptive immunotherapy to overcome some of these obstacles, the use of monoclonal antibodies to target tumor antigens for immunotherapy, and finally the potential use of heat shock proteins as targets for cancer immunotherapy.

A workshop on the marrow microenvironment and hematological malignancy.

The Division of Cancer Biology of the National Cancer Institute hosted a workshop on hematological malignancies and the marrow microenvironment in Rockville, Maryland in the fall of 2002. There were 22 invited participants from the United States, Canada, and Europe, and the workshop was organized into disease-specific sessions. The sessions were designed to explore the basic science and therapeutic applications related to the stromal and nonstromal components of the marrow in malignant hematological diseases.