BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

Immunotherapy Matchmaking

How MD Anderson is using its access to clinical samples to home in on better immunotherapy combos

July 19, 2018 10:04 PM UTC

MD Anderson Cancer Center is using its access to patient samples to inject more rationality into decisions about which therapies should be paired with checkpoint inhibitors, and how to optimize the combos. The goal is to make human data the cornerstone of the decision-making process.

According to immunotherapy pioneer Jim Allison, who chairs the Department of Immunology at the University of Texas MD Anderson, most combinations with checkpoint inhibitors haven’t been vetted to see if the coupling makes scientific sense before being tested in clinical trials. ...