Main text
Cancers are rising across generations, with young and middle-aged adults experiencing particularly sharp increases.1 While mortality rates have declined, incidence rates have climbed steadily, especially among women and minority populations.2 The increases in cancer, especially early-onset cancers in younger and younger patients, require novel therapeutic solutions.
Since its founding, the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) has tackled one of cancer’s core challenges: it comprises hundreds of distinct diseases, each uniquely shaped by tumor location, microenvironment, and molecular drivers.3,4 Cancer heterogeneity has long limited single-agent therapy success, while cell and gene therapies address and overcome many of the limitations of monotherapy. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have transformed outcomes for patients with relapsed/refractory blood cancers,5 with many achieving remissions lasting over five years. The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of lifileucel, a one-time tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte cell therapy for melanoma, showed a 31.5% response rate sustained beyond 27 months,6 demonstrating the efficacy of cell therapy for treating certain types of solid tumors.
Often, the most effective solutions emerge through combination strategies. Researchers postulate that the combination of checkpoint blockade inhibitors and CAR T cells may provide tumor-targeting immune infiltrate as well as reactivation of immune responses.7,8 Pairing cell and gene therapies with checkpoint inhibitors, targeted drugs, and microenvironment modulators creates synergies that boost efficacy while curbing resistance.
During ASGCT’s 2025 “Advancing Cell and Gene Therapies for Cancer” conference (https://www.asgct.org/events/2025-advancing-cell-and-gene-therapies-for-cancer; October 15-16 in Philadelphia), attendees will learn how to address these challenges head-on. Sessions will explore various combinatorial approaches as well as strategies to counter mechanisms of resistance. Speakers will also detail methods for overcoming tumor heterogeneity, off-target effects, delivery limitations, and microenvironment interactions while learning to integrate viral and cellular platforms for stronger immune responses.9
This event dissects resistance mechanisms—from genomic instability to immunosuppressive microenvironments—that limit current therapies. Discussions will focus on next-generation combinations using gene-editing tools to boost T cell persistence, oncolytic viruses to overcome immune suppression, and novel delivery systems to penetrate tumor barriers. Interactive sessions and poster presentations will provide opportunities for collaboration that are vital for moving discoveries from bench to bedside.
Cancer’s future treatment demands sophisticated therapeutic approaches tailored to disease complexity, not monotherapy.10 For the growing number of young adults facing cancer diagnoses and all patients counting on scientific progress, this integrated strategy offers hope for transforming cancer from fatal diagnosis to chronic condition. Advancing Cell and Gene Therapies for Cancer will present a roadmap to advance this critical mission.
Acknowledgments
Editing support was provided by Rory Bricker-Anthony, an employee of ASGCT.
Declaration of interests
The author is an employee of ASGCT.
References
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