Cancer Summit

Immunotherapy and Next-Generation Cancer Vaccines

Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as one of the most transformative advancements in oncology, harnessing the body’s immune system to recognize and eliminate malignant cells with improved specificity and durability. Current trends focus on immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4 pathways, which have demonstrated significant survival benefits across multiple tumor types including lung, melanoma, and renal cancers. In addition, CAR-T cell therapy and other adoptive cell transfer technologies are expanding beyond hematologic malignancies into solid tumors through enhanced engineering techniques that improve persistence, targeting accuracy, and safety. A major area of innovation involves next-generation cancer vaccines, including mRNA-based platforms and neoantigen-targeted personalized vaccines designed to stimulate highly specific immune responses. Combination therapies integrating immunotherapy with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or targeted agents are showing promising synergistic effects by overcoming tumor immune evasion mechanisms. Biomarker development remains central to patient selection, with ongoing research into tumor microenvironment profiling, immune gene signatures, and predictive response markers. Advances in bispecific antibodies and immune-modulating agents are further expanding treatment possibilities. Despite these breakthroughs, challenges such as immune-related adverse events, resistance mechanisms, and high treatment costs remain critical considerations. This session will explore emerging immunotherapeutic strategies, innovative vaccine technologies, translational research developments, and clinical trial advancements that are redefining the future landscape of cancer treatment and moving oncology closer toward durable remission and long-term survival outcomes.