Key Points
- A team from the Foundation and the University of Virginia has recently published guidelines for researchers who conduct studies in the field of focused ultrasound and immunotherapy.
- The paper outlines recommendations for both preclinical and clinical immune analysis of tissue and blood specimens.
A collaborative team from the Foundation and the University of Virginia recently published guidelines for immune analysis during focused ultrasound studies. The paper, “Guidelines for Immunological Analyses Following Focused Ultrasound Treatment,” is now available in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer and outlines recommendations for both preclinical and clinical immune analysis of tissue and blood specimens.
During a 2019 workshop, the Foundation team realized the field-wide need to streamline and standardize the methodology for immunological analyses. The team drafted the guidelines with the input of the Foundation’s Cancer Immunotherapy Scientific Advisory Board and several other researchers in this field, and the drafts were made available for public comment. This community collaboration has resulted in comprehensive, tumor-agnostic guidelines that include:
- Study design suggestions
- Protocols for optimal collection and storage of tissue samples
- Suggestions for analysis decision trees
- Prioritized immune assays
“As the field continues to grow, it is critical that all studies use the same methods of analysis whenever possible so results can be compared when researchers examine the effects of varying drug combinations in multiple tumor models,” said Jessica Foley, PhD, the Foundation’s chief scientific officer. “These guidelines offer a starting point for stakeholders in this field as well as those considering how focused ultrasound could fit into their research.”
See the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (Open Access)