SITC 2026: UT MD Anderson highlights advances in cancer immunotherapy

UT MD Anderson News Release November 09, 2026

ABSTRACTS: 241, 566, 828, 931, 1180

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center highlighted promising advances in cancer immunotherapy at the 2026 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting. The presentations showcased early-phase clinical trials and preclinical studies exploring new approaches to treating advanced cancers, including solid tumors, brain cancer and melanoma. These studies offer new insights to improve the effectiveness of immunotherapies and expand treatment options for patients. 

Overcoming immune suppression may improve CAR T cell therapy for solid tumors (Abstract 241)
Researchers have identified a promising strategy to make chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy more effective against solid tumors by helping immune cells overcome barriers that prevent them from attacking cancer. They discovered that certain cells surrounding tumors, known as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), release substances that interfere with the ability of CAR T cells to eliminate cancer. These substances activate the cyclic AMP (cAMP) pathway, which can weaken the immune cells' ability to function. By interfering with this axis, researchers were able to restore activity in CAR T cells and improve their ability to kill cancer cells in laboratory and preclinical models, even when exposed to conditions that normally weaken their effectiveness. The findings suggest that targeting cAMP could be a promising strategy to help CAR T cell therapies work better against solid tumors. The data was presented Nov. 7 by Ranjan Upadhyay, M.D., Ph.D., instructor in Breast Medical Oncology and Hematopoietic Biology & Malignancy. 

“One of the biggest challenges with CAR T cell therapy for solid tumors is that the surrounding tumor environment can suppress the very immune cells we are trying to use to eliminate cancer,” Upadhyay said. “Our findings help us better understand how that suppression occurs and suggest that targeting cAMP could help CAR T cells maintain their function and more effectively attack tumors.”

Engineered TIL therapy demonstrates promising activity in immunotherapy-resistant melanoma (Abstract 566)
A pooled analysis of two early-phase clinical trials found that amsokigene autoleucel (amsoki-cel, OBX-115) – a cell therapy using engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) – demonstrated encouraging activity in patients with advanced melanoma whose disease had progressed despite immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment. The TIL therapy is designed to eliminate the need for high-dose lymphodepletion and interleukin-2. It also allows for minimally invasive core needle biopsy for tumor procurement, potentially reducing treatment-related toxicity and broadening the pool of eligible patients. Among patients treated at the recommended Phase 2 dose, the objective response rate was 66.7%, including two complete responses. Across 37 treated patients, investigators reported a manageable safety profile with no dose-limiting toxicities, treatment-related deaths or intensive care unit admissions. These results were presented Nov. 7 by Rodabe Amaria, M.D., professor of Melanoma Medical Oncology, and published in Nature Medicine.

“Patients with melanoma that no longer responds to immune checkpoint inhibition have limited treatment options,” Amaria said. “These findings suggest engineered TIL therapies may provide a promising new approach while potentially reducing toxicity challenges associated with non-engineered cellular therapy strategies.”

Cancer-fighting virus forms immune defense hubs against brain cancer (Abstract 828) 
Brain tumors and metastases can be resistant to immunotherapy, in part because of the blood-brain barrier and an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Researchers from UT MD Anderson’s Viroimmunotherapy Laboratory developed oncolytic, or cancer-fighting, adenoviruses of the Delta-24 RGD platform to overcome these barriers and mount an immune response against aggressive brain tumors. In preclinical models of metastatic melanoma and gliomas, injecting the modified virus triggered the formation of tertiary lymphoid structures – temporary hubs that contain active, antitumor immune cells – inside or near the tumors. These structures were associated with stronger immune activity and reduced immunosuppression within the brain as well as improved survival. The study reveals these localized structures as a previously unknown way in which the Delta-24 RGD viruses generate long-lasting antitumor immunity and may help stratify patients in future clinical trials. Delta-24 RGD (DNX-2401) is currently being evaluated in patients with pediatric brain tumors and metastatic melanoma involving intracranial and/or extracranial lesions. The findings were presented Nov. 7 by Hong Jiang, Ph.D., associate professor in Neuro-Oncology.

“Our findings suggest that oncolytic adenoviruses can help create an organized immunological niche within the brain where immune cells can interact and work together to attack tumors,”  Jiang said. “This discovery gives us a better understanding of how the virus works and could help guide future strategies to improve immunotherapy for patients with brain cancer.”

Targeting protein could improve CAR T cell therapy response in brain metastases and solid tumors (Abstract 931) 
A new study points to a potential way to make CAR T cell therapy more effective against hard-to-treat solid tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer and brain metastases. Researchers found that a key protein inside CAR T cells, called TCF7, is suppressed by a chemical modification (phosphorylation) when the cells attack tumors over extended periods. TCF7 helps T cells renew themselves, and blunting its activity may explain why CAR T cells often work at first but become exhausted in solid tumors. By engineering CAR T cells to resist this modification, the team preserved features associated with longer-lasting immune responses in preclinical models. Analyzing samples from patients treated with CAR T cell therapy, the researchers found that a gene signature linked to this modification was associated with poorer responses and more exhausted T cells. A similar pattern appeared in patients with breast cancer receiving immunotherapy, including those with brain metastases. The findings suggest that blocking TCF7 phosphorylation may make CAR T cell therapies more durable. Zhou Jiang, Ph.D., a research scientist in Molecular Oncology, presented the findings Nov. 7. 

“T cell exhaustion has been the main barrier to making CAR T cell therapies work in solid tumors,” Jiang said. “By identifying a modification that limits a T cell’s ability to renew itself, we have a specific target for keeping these cells functional for longer, which matters most in settings like brain metastases, where durable responses are hardest to achieve.”

Study suggests dual-action immunotherapy may benefit patients with advanced solid tumors (Abstract 1180)
Results from an ongoing Phase 1 trial suggest that SOT201 – an experimental immunotherapy designed to help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells – may offer a new treatment approach for patients with advanced solid tumors who have received multiple previous treatments. SOT201 combines two strategies: blocking the PD-1 immune checkpoint and stimulating immune cells to strengthen the body’s response against tumors. The study included 22 patients with advanced cancers who had received a median of three previous lines of treatment. Researchers reported that 63.6% of patients experienced disease control, meaning their tumors either shrank or stopped growing for a period of time. Two patients, one with esophageal cancer and another with cervical cancer, experienced measurable tumor shrinkage. The treatment also showed encouraging activity in patients whose cancers had progressed after previous immunotherapy. The study results were presented on Nov. 7 by Aung Naing, M.D., professor of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics.

“These early results are encouraging, particularly because many of these patients had already received several treatments and had limited available options,” Naing said. “By combining two different ways of activating the immune system, this treatment may help patients whose cancers have stopped responding to previous immunotherapies. Larger studies will be important to better understand which patients are most likely to benefit.”