Cancer Research Institute Hosting Free Cancer Immunotherapy Webinars in June

NEW YORK, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cancer Research Institute (CRI), a New York-based nonprofit organization committed to developing immune system-based cancer treatments, is holding a series of five webinars in June to talk about breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy research and treatments as part of Cancer Immunotherapy Awareness Month.

Cancer immunotherapy is a new class of cancer treatment that mobilizes the immune system to fight the disease and represents the most immediate hope for curing patients with any type of cancer.

"Because this form of cancer treatment has only recently become known outside of the research world, many people are either unaware of cancer immunotherapy or do not know of its promise in offering safer and more effective treatment," said Jill O'Donnell-Tormey, CEO and director of scientific affairs at the Cancer Research Institute.

Cancer Research Institute is making the webinars free and open to the public as a way to promote awareness and education about cancer immunotherapy.

The 45-minute webinars are held each week in June, and cover several different areas of immunotherapy research and treatments. Each presentation will be followed by a Q&A period where the public is welcome to submit questions. Registration is free, but advance registration is required. Topics, presenters, dates and times are below.

For more information or to register, visit www.cancerresearch.org/fightwithwhite.

Immunotherapy for Gynecologic Cancers

Tuesday, June 4
2 p.m. EST

Presented by Kunle Odunsi, M.D., Ph.D., a specialist in immunotherapy for gynecologic cancers at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Engineering T Cells to Conquer Cancer

Monday, June 10
2 p.m. EST

Presented by Carl H. June, M.D., a specialist in T cell biology and lymphocyte activation at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Immunotherapy for Breast and Pancreatic Cancers

Thursday, June 13
2 p.m. EST

Presented by Elizabeth Marion Jaffee, M.D., a cancer immunotherapy specialist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Treating Melanoma with Immunotherapy

Tuesday, June 18
2 p.m. EST

Presented by Dr. Jedd D. Wolchok, a medical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of melanoma at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Boosting Immune Defenses Against Cancer

Tuesday, June 25
2 p.m. EST

Presented by Dr. Philip D. Greenberg, professor of medicine (oncology) and immunology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at the University of Washington.

The Cancer Research Institute is also holding a series of events to promote cancer immunotherapy research and awareness in June. For ways to get involved with CRI and Cancer Immunotherapy Awareness Month, visit www.cancerresearch.org/fightwithwhite.

About the Cancer Research Institute

The Cancer Research Institute (CRI), established in 1953, is the world's only nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to transforming cancer patient care by advancing scientific efforts to develop new and effective immune system-based strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and eventually cure all cancers. Guided by a world-renowned Scientific Advisory Council that includes three Nobel laureates and 30 members of the National Academy of Sciences, CRI has invested more than $225 million in support of research conducted by immunologists and tumor immunologists at the world's leading medical centers and universities, and has contributed to many of the key scientific advances that demonstrate the potential for immunotherapy to change the face of cancer treatment. To learn more, go to www.cancerresearch.org.

SOURCE Cancer Research Institute