SITC 2021 | The role of surgeons in immunotherapy

Howard Kaufman, MD, FACS, Ankyra Therapeutics and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, comments on the impact of surgeons on immunotherapy for solid tumors. Surgeons play an important role in providing biopsies from tumor tissue, which are critical to improve our understanding of immunotherapy. In addition, tumor tissue is also required for a range of procedures and treatments including adoptive cell therapy and oncolytic virus therapy. Dr Kaufman explains that the introduction of minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy have allowed to access tumor tissue easily and at different time periods. This interview took place during the 36th Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.