Dr. Arnie Baskies on Immunotherapy’s Past, Present, and Future

Once limited to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, cancer treatment now includes a powerful fourth arm: immunotherapy—and it’s transforming care for patients around the world. As we recognize Cancer Immunotherapy Awareness Month this June, we sat down with Dr. Arnie Baskies MD, FACS, Chair of ICRF’s Board of Trustees and former chair of the American Cancer Society, to explore the promise of immunotherapy in the fight against cancer.

Dr. Baskies completed a fellowship in surgical oncology and tumor immunology at the National Cancer Institute where he participated in the world’s first clinical trial that showed a positive outcome for immunotherapy. In addition, he pioneered the first immunotherapy treatments for patients with brain tumors. He shared more about this work, as well as fascinating facts about this emerging field.

Read on to learn about Dr. Baskies’ contributions, his journey from a young investigator into a respected leader, and why he believes Israel is uniquely positioned to drive the next wave of breakthroughs in immunotherapy and in all types of cancer treatment.

Tell us something we may not know about immunotherapy.
Immunotherapy is not new. In fact, its roots stretch back thousands of years—even to hieroglyphics from ancient Egypt, where it was observed that some tumors seemed to shrink following infections and fevers. These early observations gave insight into the powerful role the immune system might play in fighting cancer.

In the late 1800s, Dr. William Coley, regarded as the “Father of Immunotherapy,” built on this idea by using bacterial infections to stimulate immune responses in cancer patients—a method ahead of its time. Although his work was largely dismissed for decades, it laid the foundation for what came later. By the 20th century, major discoveries—like the identification of T-cells and the development of monoclonal antibodies—propelled the field forward. In the 2000s, therapies like checkpoint inhibitors and CAR T-cells emerged, offering new hope to patients with advanced cancers.

Today, immunotherapy is used to treat multiple types of cancer—including melanoma, lung, brain, and breast cancers—with ongoing research expanding its potential to many others. 

You’ve been involved with some immunotherapy discoveries. Can you share more about your role in this work?
I’ve come full circle in the past 45 years from being a young investigator studying immunotherapy and now being able to actively treat patients. From 1977 to 1979 I was at NCI working under Dr. Paul Chretien. He was an insightful surgeon investigator, and I was immediately enamored by his idea that you can fight cancer by harnessing the immune system. 

Prior to my arrival at NCI, there was an interest in a substance called thymosin, an extract from the thymus gland of calves. Under the microscope, it was shown that adding it could help identify new T-cells and therefore improve the immune systems of cancer patients.

I am also proud of the education in immunotherapy that I gleaned working under Dr. Steven Rosenberg at NCI. With Dr. Chretien, we looked at different doses of thymus extract in patients being treated for small-cell lung cancer. (The most immunosuppressed patients we studied were small-cell lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.) Patients who were receiving thymic extract responded better than the patients who were receiving placebo and the results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1978. Dr. Steven Rosenberg is still at NCI today, and I consider him to be the father of adoptive immunotherapy. Patients are now treated for various types of lymphoma with modified T-cells, which he pioneered.  

Are you satisfied with the progress made in cancer immunotherapy research thus far?
Yes. For example, today we are seeing drugs like Herceptin, a monoclonal antibody used to treat breast cancer, making a huge difference in women who are Her2 positive – and that’s just one instance. There are many advances in the treatment of melanoma and lung cancer, based on immunotherapy drugs that are available now. We’ve come a long way in such a short period of time. There is a lot more work to be done, but we should be incredibly happy where we are right now.  

It’s important to note that cancer immunotherapy research, and scientific research in general, takes time. These advancements don’t happen over 24 hours—they occur over many years, and we all live on the shoulders of people who preceded us. The current information we have is based on the observations of doctors from 50 years ago who said that cancer cells are different from regular cells, and we should be able to treat patients knowing this. On average, from the time of discovery to use – it can take a decade to get a treatment approved for human use.  

When it comes to immunotherapy, what are you most excited about?
I’m very excited about the potential for the treatment of solid tumors with T-cell therapies that will be less toxic than chemotherapy. Soon we will be actively treating patients with their own cells that have been genetically modified to fight their cancer, potentially replacing chemotherapy. This is true personalized medicine. I am involved with studies treating women with advanced ovarian cancer with their own T-cells and these treatments are much less toxic than what we have right now. We’ve seen amazing responses thus far, and this is very exciting to me.

The other exciting area is the number of tumor vaccines being studied. I’m very excited about a particular breast cancer vaccine in development. Think about where oncology has been over the last 75 years – we are at a point where we have unlocked the human genome and can create targeted therapies that are extremely specific.

What is the biggest opportunity you see with immunotherapy treatment?
Some cancers are resistant to immunotherapy, but they are also resistant to all types of treatment. Pancreatic cancer is an example, and it’s the most disappointing of all the cancers we treat. On the upside, there is a lot of work being done to figure out why pancreatic cancer cells protect themselves from treatment. If we can unlock that, immunotherapy has the potential to be highly effective, which could be revolutionary for people and their families affected by pancreatic cancer. 

Can you share a success story or two that you’ve seen firsthand using immunotherapy treatment?
The biggest success stories for me have been related to lung cancer and melanoma. For lung cancer, we have a family member who had a large tumor in his chest. He received immunotherapy treatment that made the tumor resolve completely. It was truly amazing, and the results made me very happy. Without that treatment, he would have otherwise died within months of diagnosis but the fact that these newer agents are working is such great news. 

Another success story focuses on a close friend’s son in law, a young man, who had melanoma of the head and neck. Immunotherapy has been very effective in treating him. It’s been four years since his diagnosis and he’s alive and well with no evidence of disease. In the past, there were no effective treatment options for advanced melanoma. Today, we have multiple treatments that are working well.

These are just two examples that have impacted me personally, however, there are many more success stories happening every day for lots of families, and there will be many more to come as we continue to advance this work.

Why is ICRF so important?
The thing I am most proud of with ICRF is that we recognize that innovative research takes time, and we continue to support research. COVID didn’t stop us and now there’s a war in Israel–and despite that, Israeli scientists are persevering to try to identify agents which will help humans all over the world, not just in Israel. 

It’s an amazing time for us to be involved in cancer research and we should be very proud of what Israel’s accomplishments have been. Every day there are observations made in Israel, which are making and will continue to make a difference.