Highlighting recent achievements to advance more effective cancer immunotherapy

Beatrice Belmonte1, Sheila Spada2, Paola Allavena3

  • 1Tumor Immunology Unit, Departmentof Health Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.

From 17 to 19th October 2024, the XXI Italian Network for Bio-Immunotherapy of Tumors Meeting (NIBIT) took place in Palermo, in the marvelous historical location of Teatro Politeama, under the auspices of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM), Italian Association of Cancer Research (AIRC), Fondazione Pezcoller, Italian Alliance against Cancer (ACC), Italian Lymphoma Foundation (FIL), Grazia Focacci Foundation and Melagioco Foundation. The conference covered a spectrum of topics ranging from target discovery to therapeutic advances in immuno-oncology, bringing world-renowned experts to present groundbreaking innovations in basic, translational, and clinical cancer research. Six sessions focused on cellular therapies, digital pathology, vaccines, tertiary lymphoid structures, and microenvironment in order to get deep insights on how to personalize diagnosis and therapies in the clinical setting. Young investigators had the opportunity to meet and greet their mentors, promoting the synergy of the academic and industrial sectors within the national and international panorama, discussing the application of artificial intelligence on multi-specific antibodies, drug conjugates, and antibody fusion proteins that are advancing the efficacy of precision medicine and minimizing off-target effects.

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