Webinar #1: Deciphering the cancer immunity cycle through next-generation sequencing
Speaker:
Simon Cawley, PhD
Head of Software and Bioinformatics for the Ion Torrent next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform
To kick off our three-part immuno-oncology webinar series, Dr. Cawley highlights recent advancements driven by next-generation sequencing that may lead to a deeper understanding of the cancer immunity cycle. Through the use of complementary yet differentiated NGS assays and downstream analysis, these actionable insights may help pave the way for future precision immunotherapies.
Learning objectives of the webinar:
- Understand current challenges in precision immunotherapy today and impacts on immunotherapy translational research
- Describe the advantages of Ion Torrent’s full immuno-oncology NGS portfolio to help decipher the immunity cycle
Webinar #2: Advancing precision immunotherapy through next-generation sequencing of T cell receptors: Part I
Speaker:
Timothy Looney, PhD
Staff Scientist, Bioinformatics,
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Dr. Looney reviews recent advancements in the application of next-generation sequencing of T cell receptor beta (TCRB) chain repertoires towards predictive and mechanistic biomarker discovery for cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Looney focuses on immunotherapy biomarker applications of a long-amplicon TCRB sequencing assay, which provides coverage of the CDR1, 2 and 3 regions of the rearranged TCRB chain. He highlights recent data from individuals receiving checkpoint blockade immunotherapy for cancer that suggests that long-amplicon TCRB repertoire sequencing of pre-treatment peripheral blood may be used to identify predictive biomarkers for immune-mediated adverse events and objective clinical response.
Learning objectives of the webinar:
- Understand current applications of T cell receptor sequencing to immunotherapy translational research
- Describe the advantages of long-amplicon TCRB sequencing via Ion Torrent for immunotherapy biomarker discovery from peripheral blood
Webinar #3: Advancing precision immunotherapy through next-generation sequencing of T-cell receptors: Part II
Speaker:
Timothy Looney, PhD
Staff Scientist, Bioinformatics,
Thermo Fisher Scientific
In the final presentation of this webinar series, we continue our discussions of recent advancements in the application of next-generation sequencing of T cell receptor beta (TCRB) chain repertoires to precision immunotherapy. In Part I, Dr. Looney highlighted novel applications of long-amplicon TCRB sequencing. In Part II, we introduce a newly launched short-amplicon TCRB sequencing assay designed to interrogate the TCRB CDR3 region from fresh or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples. Dr. Looney presents data suggesting that short-amplicon TCRB repertoire sequencing of FFPE samples may be used to characterize T cell responses to tumor antigens through the assessment of T cell expansion, diversity and receptor convergence. Additionally, short-read sequencing of the peripheral blood may enable detection of low-frequency malignant T cell clones for future minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring applications.
Learning objectives of the webinar:
- Understand new applications of T cell receptor sequencing to immunotherapy translational research
- Describe the advantages of short-amplicon TCRB sequencing via Ion Torrent for characterization of the tumor microenvironment
