Previous efforts to predict patient response to immunotherapy have relied on static snapshots of the tumor microenvironment and have thus been unable to effectively predict which patients will benefit. Functional profiling of living tumor tissue enables the direct measurement of immune response in a setting where the native tumor microenvironment is retained offering a promising strategy for response prediction. With recent directives from the FDA, NCI, and ASCO, functional precision medicine is gaining momentum in the field of response prediction. Beyond the clinical application, these platforms offer the opportunity to explore mechanisms of response and resistance. this symposium will explore ex vivo approaches to evaluate immunotherapy response using tumor explant models and demonstrate applications in drug development and diagnostic testing.
- Daniela Thommen, MD, PhD, Group Leader at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and pioneer in ex vivo functional immune profiling to predict patient response.
- Jeremy Ratiu, PhD, Associate Principal Scientist at AstraZeneca, on dissecting the mechanism of action of bispecific antibody rilvegostomig ex vivo.
- Hinco Gierman, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Elephas, on applying ex vivo cytokine profiling of routine clinical biopsies to predict ICI response.
