The ability of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) such as T cells to produce multitudes of clones that overwhelm and effectively control cancer cells has been demonstrated, but the significance of the composition of T-cell repertories is unknown. Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) researchers used deep T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing to evaluate the clonal composition of TILs and identify novel prognostic biomarkers in ovarian cancer. The findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 52nd Annual Meeting in Chicago.

In a large randomized study, the immunotherapy drug nivolumab, a checkpoint inhibitor, was shown to be a safe and effective therapy for kidney cancer even in patients who continued treatment after their disease progressed. Results of the phase III clinical study conducted by physician-scientists at multiple centers, including Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 52nd Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Obesity has been identified as an adverse risk factor for survival in many adult and childhood cancers, but not in pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma, the most common cancer in adolescents. The results of a study led by researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) and Columbia University Medical Center used advanced imaging methods to evaluate obesity and suggest a relationship between obesity and disease relapse. The team’s findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 52nd Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Primary immunodeficiency disorders are a group of more than 300 single gene defects that affect the role of the immune system and prevent it from functioning properly. When Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers evaluated the overall and site-specific incidence of cancer among patients registered in the United States Immune Deficiency Network (USIDNET), they found increased cancer incidence rates among patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases — and, in particular, a significant increase in lymphoma cases. The team’s findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 52nd Annual Meeting in Chicago.