we have seen significant advances in how the immune system can be utilized to treat cancer, with thousands of patients now having been treated with immunotherapies either in the clinical trial setting or as standard of care. reports of significant positive outcomes for an increasing number of tumour types have fueled hope among patients and researchers for long term survivorship and even cures in some cases. despite these important advances there are still many key questions to achieve a future where the potential benefit of these therapies can be maximised for the greatest number of patients, in both early and late stage cancers. questions regarding how to select patients who will most likely respond, how to identifying potential biomarkers for response, how to combine io therapies with one another or with other treatment modalities, sequencing of therapies, how to use these therapies in an ever evolving treatment paradigm, as standard of care and when to stop treatment.

as we look to the future of IO, and optimizing immunotherapy use, approaches must be developed to identify which patients are likely to achieve benefit. to reach more patients across more indications, as well as tumour agnostic profiles, and with more patients responding we must be able to:

• leverage real world evidence and patient reported outcomes to create a value proposition for IO
• improve patient outcomes from IO therapies
• ensure that only patients who are likely to benefit are receiving IO therapies
• expand understanding of who is likely to respond, biomarkers, potential resistance
• establish neo-adjuvant and adjuvant therapeutic benefit, reducing incidence of late stage and metastatic cancers [this could potentially transform the whole cancer paradigm]
• create an environment where cancer becomes a chronic disease
• create a favourable economic impact for healthcare systems, payors and decision makers
• defining a value proposition for IO
• better understand the patient experience to expand the value proposition for IO

immuno-oncology is becoming a cornerstone of cancer therapy, and as we continue to understand how to fully utilize the immune system, immuno-oncology has the potential to revolutionize how we think about treating cancer and re-revolutionize immuno-oncology again.