Future Directions and Priorities for Cellular Therapy in Sarcoma: A Report from the Strategic Advances in Sarcoma...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Cellular Therapy

Background:

• The 2nd annual Strategic Advances in Sarcoma Science (SASS) meeting convened experts to discuss sarcoma research.
• A key focus was the role of immunotherapy and adoptive cellular therapies (ACTs) in sarcoma treatment.
• This manuscript summarizes discussions on the current and future use of ACTs in sarcomas.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize expert discussions on adoptive cellular therapies (ACTs) for sarcomas.
• To provide a resource for researchers and clinicians on ACTs in sarcoma.
• To outline future directions for ACTs in sarcoma treatment.

Main Methods:

• Expert discussions during the SASS meeting's Immunology in Sarcoma breakout group.
• Synthesis of information on preclinical studies, clinical trials, and challenges in ACTs for sarcomas.
• Literature review and expert consensus on current and future ACT implementation.

Main Results:

• Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) has demonstrated encouraging results in sarcomas.
• Afami-cel achieved durable responses in synovial sarcoma.
• Early T-cell receptor (TCR)-T trials targeting NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A4 showed meaningful response rates.

Conclusions:

• Sarcomas are viable targets for adoptive cell therapy (ACT).
• Achieving broader impact necessitates discovery of new targets and optimal cell selection.
• Improved conditioning regimens, combination treatments, deeper tumor microenvironment understanding, and predictive biomarkers are crucial for durable responses.