Oncology events & webinars

Attending this French Immuno-Oncology gathering hosted by the Paris-Saclay Cancer Cluster (PSCC)

Speaking at the 4th edition of the Basel Single Cell & Spatial Day, co-hosted by 10x Genomics & Novartis. CTO Jean-Philippe Guégan presented a case study: "Analysis of Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) in human PBMCs with the Xenium IO panel".

Spending the day with the French oncology community of the Paris-Saclay Cancer Cluster (PSCC) at the Hive.

Prof. Italiano Antoine (Gustave Roussy) took the stage at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago to present a spatial atlas of ADC targets in immunotherapy-treated NSCLC (first author: Jean-Philippe Guegan, CTO, Explicyte)

Paul Marteau, study director at Explicyte plays on home ground in Bordeaux next week for the Meet2Win oncology meeting. Contact him to arrange a discussion.

Our data featured in 3 posters: Brenus Pharma (Paul Bravetti, Benoit Pinteur) "From preclinical models to first-in-human evaluation of STC-1010 immunotherapy in unresectable advanced colorectal cancer" // Kainova Therapeutics (Nathalie Lenne, Stephan Schann) "Comprehensive characterization of DT-7012, a differentiated CCR8-depleting antibody for the treatment of solid tumors" // Gustave Roussy (Italiano Antoine) "Tumor-cell NY-ESO-1 expression predicts poor response to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in NSCLC"

The discovery of regulatory T cells (Tregs) was honored with the 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine, underscoring their central role in immune suppression. In this webinar, we explore one of the most promising directions in immuno-oncology: CCR8⁺ Tregs. With Domain Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing novel GPCR-targeting therapies, and Explicyte, a CRO specialized in translational research and tumor microenvironment analysis, we connect drug design to patient-anchored evidence in solid tumors—showing how CCR8 can serve as both a therapeutic target and a predictive biomarker.

A webinar hosted by 10x Genomics with Alban Bessède, CEO of Explicyte, and Paloma Cejas, Chief of Biology at Cure51. Presenting an in vitro proof-of-concept using Xenium with the STAMP workflow on PBMCs exposed to cancer immunotherapy.

In a joint session with Prof. Antoine Italiano, Alban Bessede presented findings from the CONGRATS study (Phase II trial of nivolumab ± relatlimab in patients with TLS-positive soft-tissue sarcomas). Alban’s talk was focused on spatial transcriptomic data revealing molecular patterns linked to sensitivity and resistance to immunotherapy in sarcoma.

2 posters: "Spatial transcriptomics reveal crucial determinants of immune exclusion in non-small cell lung cancer From the Precision Medicine BIP Study" In collaboration with GSK, Institut Bergonié, and Gustave Roussy + "CCR8⁺ regulatory T cells and their correlation with immunotherapy response in advanced NSCLC In collaboration" with Bayer AG, Institut Bergonié, and Gustave Roussy

Alban Bessede, CEO, and Jean-Philippe Guegan, CTO, present 2 posters: "Impact of Immune Contexture on Immunotherapy Response in NSCLC: Insights from Multiplex IHC and Machine Learning-Based Phenotyping" and "Tertiary Lymphoid Structures as Predictors of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Efficacy in NSCLC and the Development of an Ex Vivo Model for Precision Medicine"

An insightful session featuring the first authors behind three influential 2025 papers on tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) in cancer: Masataka Amisaki, MD, PhD, MSKCC (USA), and Florent Peyraud, MD, PhD, Institut Bergonié (France). Introduction by Alban Bessede, PhD, CEO of Explicyte.

Imane Nafia, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Explicyte presented 2 posters: "Enhanced anti-tumor response to anti-angiogenic / hypoxia-regulating therapies in combination with immune checkpoint blockade in a murine model of renal carcinoma" and "High grade serous ovarian cancer ascites exhibit an impaired immune environment – immunosuppressive & protumoral – detrimental to the immune response".

Imane Nafia, Chief Scientific Officer at Explicyte presented the poster "Ovarian cancer ascites exhibit an impaired immune environment – immunosuppressive & protumoral – detrimental to the immune response"

Since 2021, Explicyte has developed a specific expertise in Tertiary Lymphoid Structure (TLS) detection and scoring by digital pathology. Hosted by Alban Bessede, PhD, CEO of Explicyte, this 45-minute webinar dedicated to TLS modulation in cancer immunotherapy will feature 2 presentations: "Tertiary lymphoid structures as modulators of anti-tumor immunity: what do we know and where are we headed?" By Tullia C. Bruno, PhD – UPMC Hillman Cancer Center / University of Pittsburgh "Predictive role of TLS for cancer immunotherapy: current insights and perspectives" by Pr Antoine Italiano, MD, PhD – Institut Bergonié & Gustave Roussy Comprehensive Cancer Centers Author of 500+ peer-reviewed publications, Pr. Italiano has been the Principal Investigator of 50+ clinical trials over the past 5 years, investigating the resistance mechanisms to cancer immunotherapies in solid tumors. Trained as a medical oncologist in France, he obtained a PhD in Molecular & Cell Biology in 2008. He then joined the laboratory of Cristina Antonescu for a post-doctoral fellowship at the MSKCC (New York, USA). He is currently leading Early Phase Trials and Sarcoma Units at Institut Bergonié (Bordeaux, France) and the head of the Precision Medicine unit at Gustave Roussy (Villejuif, France).

Alban Bessede, CEO of Explicyte, and Antoine Italiano, MD at the Institut Bergonié, were in Chicago in early June at the 2024 ASCO meeting to present a recent piece of research performed in partnership with 3 French Comprehensive Cancer Centers: Institut Gustave Roussy (Paris), Institut Bergonié (Bordeaux), and Institut Claudius Regaud (Toulouse). In this phase II trial of Regorafenib (anti-VEGFR therapy) combined with avelumab (anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy) in soft-tissue sarcoma patients with cold tumors (TLS-negative), we found a positive effect of this combotherapy in terms of anti-tumor immunity mobilization and 6-month progression-free survival (PFS).

3 posters presented: "Profiling of immune cell components and soluble factors in ovarian cancer ascites highlights impaired immune environment", "Cancer-associated fibroblasts promote T-cell exclusion and resistance to immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer with tertiary lymphoid structures", "Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 is expressed in tertiary lymphoid structures and associated with improved outcome in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with anti-PD1/PDL1 inhibitors"

3 posters presented: "Identification of super-exhausted T cells: a novel population predictive of response to immunotherapy", "Indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase expression predicts response to Immune Checkpoint Blockers in advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer", "Comprehensive analysis of a novel anti-PD1 resistant sarcoma mouse model"

CEO Alban Bessède presented the poster "A novel gut-restricted small molecule TLR2 agonist enhances immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy in a preclinical mouse fibrosarcoma tumor model"

Alban Bessede presented the poster "Identification of super-exhausted T cells: A novel population predictive of response to immunotherapy"

In this collaborative session organized by NanoString Technologies Inc. in conjunction with Oxford Global: Biomarkers UK, Dr. Alban Bessede discusses recent findings about new mechanisms underlying response to cancer immunotherapies.

4 posters presented: Development and characterization of a novel anti-PD1 resistant sarcoma mouse model / High regulatory T cells infiltrate within tertiary lymphoid structure restricts response to immune checkpoint blockers in sarcomas / Low plasma Arginine level is associated with resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced cancer / Ovarian cancer ascites display altered immune environment featured by enhanced soluble factors and suppressive cellular context

Explicyte was pleased to present our posters featuring our capacities / platforms that support drug discovery.

Presentïng the poster “Comprehensive assessment of anti-tumor PDL1 blockade effect in a sarcoma mouse model“

If you attend the ASCO Annual Meeting this year in Chicago, we will be glad to take this opportunity to meet you there and discuss the way Explicyte can support your clinical research programs.

Presenting the poster “The Kynurenine Pathway as a possible resistance mechanism to immunotherapy in sarcomas”