Focus Feature: Focused Ultrasound and Cancer Immunotherapy

June is Cancer Immunotherapy Month.                   June 30, 2020   Focus Feature: Focused Ultrasound and Cancer Immunotherapy     Focused Ultrasound and Cancer Immunotherapy   The Focused Ultrasound Foundation recognizes that the intersection of focused ultrasound and cancer immunotherapy offers a highly promising opportunity for combination approaches to treat a variety of cancers. Through our Cancer Immunotherapy Program and collaboration with our partners and the research community, we aim to explore and assess the full potential of focused ultrasound to turn this promise into reality. It’s been five years since the Foundation formally launched our Cancer Immunotherapy Program. Now, as the Cancer Research Institute’s 8th annual Cancer Immunotherapy Month™ comes to a close, we are pleased to highlight important progress that has been made in the field and key Foundation activities in this flagship program. Our efforts have helped push the field forward, and we continue to work diligently toward a future immune to cancer.     READ MORE > Learn more about our Cancer Immunotherapy Work and Help us Fund Research!  Visit our new, dedicated webpage, “Cancer Immunotherapy at a Glance,” for key content and periodic updates on the Foundation’s work in this area. Support the Foundation’s five-year, $5 million campaign to fund advanced research on focused ultrasound’s role in immune-based cancer treatment. LEARN MORE > Watch Now: Dive into the Field of Focused Ultrasound for Cancer Immunotherapy The following videos and webinar recordings introduce the exciting fields of cancer immunotherapy and focused ultrasound.   Cancer Immunotherapy Treatment and Research in a COVID-19 World Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, PhD, CEO of the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), and the Foundation's Chief Scientific Officer, Jessica Foley, PhD, discuss cancer immunotherapy and the ways that CRI and the Foundation are working together to advance exciting research, through a lens of the COVID-19 environment (60 minutes).   Focused Ultrasound and Cancer Immunotherapy Chief Scientific Officer Jessica Foley, PhD, discusses focused ultrasound and its potential role in cancer immunotherapy (14 minutes).   Introduction to Cancer Immunotherapy and Focused Ultrasound Kelsie Timbie, PhD, Scientific Programs Manager and Veterinary Program Director, provides an introduction to how the fields of focused ultrasound and cancer immunotherapy intersect (8 minutes).   Immunotherapy Research Overview New and ongoing clinical and preclinical research is examining the use of focused ultrasound in initiating an anti-tumor immune response – either alone or in combination with immunotherapies – to treat cancer.   READ MORE > Call for Comments: Guidelines for Immune Analysis During Focused Ultrasound Research The Foundation’s scientific team has drafted guidelines outlining high priority immune assays for preclinical and clinical studies to help standardize research in this area. We are inviting public comment on these documents until August 1, 2020. REVIEW GUIDELINES AND PROVIDE INPUT > Cancer Immunotherapy Month: Foundation Educates Thousands with Targeted Outreach Campaign In recognition of the 8th annual Cancer Immunotherapy Month™, the Foundation coordinated with the Cancer Research Institute throughout June to help raise awareness of immunotherapy for all types of cancer and emphasize the role of focused ultrasound.   READ MORE > Nobel Laureate James Allison to Deliver Special Lecture on Cancer Immunotherapy at 2020 Symposium James P. Allison, PhD, Chair of Immunology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, will share three decades of experience studying cancer immunotherapies. His documentary “Breakthrough” chronicles how his visionary immunology research revolutionized cancer treatment and earned him the Nobel Prize.  READ MORE > Cancer Immunotherapy Grants Available Through our Cancer Immunotherapy Funding Program, the Foundation offers research funding alone and in conjunction with its partners. Over the past four years, we have funded 20 studies that range from preclinical through translational to clinical trials on all types of cancer models.   SEE HOW TO APPLY FOR FUNDING >