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ASCO 2026 | Improving population-tailored immunotherapy: implications from a Mediterranean cohort study
Osama Alsmadi, PhD, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan, discusses ways to improve population-tailored immunotherapy for underrepresented Mediterranean populations, highlighting the need for prospective clinical trials to ensure equity in healthcare and inclusivity. Dr Alsmadi emphasizes the importance of genomic database research and international collaborations. This interview took place during the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting in Chicago, IL.
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Transcript
Well, this is a future look. And looking at our findings in the context of the approach of the therapies, we think that at the time of the design of the monoclonal antibody that’s used in the CAR-T constructs, this data may not have had such a big impact on the populations that have participated in those studies. So if we want to look at, for example, equity of healthcare and the effectiveness of this therapy in populations that, in fact, express this kind of variant at a high percentage, this would be really realistic and I think worthwhile to really look into prospective clinical trials in the future...
Well, this is a future look. And looking at our findings in the context of the approach of the therapies, we think that at the time of the design of the monoclonal antibody that’s used in the CAR-T constructs, this data may not have had such a big impact on the populations that have participated in those studies. So if we want to look at, for example, equity of healthcare and the effectiveness of this therapy in populations that, in fact, express this kind of variant at a high percentage, this would be really realistic and I think worthwhile to really look into prospective clinical trials in the future. So this would be inclusive to these populations underrepresented today. And also to trigger some more genomic database research, which falls as a joint effort between established research centers and the region, and there are centers there that can be good partners, you know, in the future, I think, to really take some initiative of future research. And we really, as in my own center, we’re really positioned to really accept, you know, some international collaborations looking at this perspective, considering we have also at King Hussein Cancer Center started, in fact, a CAR T-cell therapy trial, the first trial. And so far, we have transplanted nearly 20 patients being followed up with good success, in fact, so far. So we really, from all this, you know, we’re really optimistic, you know, there’ll be some future interaction and collaboration and we really call also on the funding agencies to really look into this, pharmas to really collaborate with the region and take into account our message that we have, you know, published and then soon it will be also online in a journal. We have reached, in fact, near acceptance with the Journal of Personalized Medicine. We are looking at our work and I think it is reaching some acceptance and recognition and we really hope again we will see some follow-up and response to our message that we presented in this conference. Thank you.
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