Immune System & Cancer: Personalized Immunotherapy & Diagnostics
Featuring: Simo Arredouani, PhD
In short
Immunologist Simo Arredouani explains how Omniscope's technology analyzes T cell and B cell patterns in a blood sample to predict whether an immunotherapy is likely to work for you, track how well treatment is going, and catch early signs of recurrence. The conversation covers what this kind of immune testing can and cannot do today, including its limits for rare cancers with few mutations, and how patients might eventually access it.
- •Ask your oncologist whether immune response prediction testing could help you decide to continue or switch an immunotherapy before waiting months for scan results.
- •Blood-based immune monitoring may be a less invasive option than repeat tumor biopsies, which is especially relevant if your tumor is hard to reach, such as a brain metastasis.
- •If you have a rare cancer with low mutational burden, ask your care team about TCR T cell therapy approaches rather than vaccines, since Omniscope's technology may still identify useful targets even when mutation count is low.
- •Omniscope's consumer immune health report currently costs $2,000–$5,000 and requires a blood draw in Barcelona; contact simo@omniscope.ai for current details before making any plans.
Watch on Cancer Patient Lab YouTube
Ask anything about this — free, no signup
Instant answers grounded in real guidelines, not the internet.
Brad Power and Emily Kim March 19, 2025
Meeting Summary
Your immune system is a formidable ally against cancer, yet it doesn’t always win the fight. You can increase your odds of beating your cancer by looking at the hidden intricacies of your immune system and personalizing cancer treatments using new technologies.
Simo Arredouani, PhD, Vice President of Immunology and Strategic Partnerships at Omniscope, is uniquely qualified to describe how new immune system diagnostic technologies can transform your cancer care. Omniscope has combined proprietary laboratory technology that can monitor your immune system and predict your treatment response, applying AI to the world's largest immune system database.
They look at protein complexes found on the surface of your white blood cells (T lymphocytes) that play a crucial role in your adaptive immune system, are specific to your cancer, and can be used to develop personalized therapies for you. Why would you want to be able to analyze your immune system?
•Predict your immune system response : Know if a treatment, especially an immunotherapy, will work before you start.
•Monitor treatment effectiveness : Track your progress in real-time and adjust your strategy as needed.
•Early detection: Catch any signs of disease progression – changes in your immune repertoire can help identify potential health issues before they become serious and move you from a reactive to a proactive approach to your health.
•Uncover hidden patterns : Understand how your immune system works and understand your immune system diversity.
•Deliver personalized care : Tailor therapies to your unique needs.
•Health monitoring : Understand the state and fitness of your immune system – provide insights into your overall health and potential vulnerabilities; determine treatment efficacy much faster than current methods, potentially saving $15,000 per month by stopping ineffective treatments earlier. Use blood tests as a non-invasive alternative to tumor biopsies.
•Treatment personalization : Help predict your likelihood of responding to immunotherapies, potential adverse events, minimal residual disease (recurrence), and treatment efficacy – potentially saving you time, money, and unnecessary treatments
•Athletic performance : Help you understand your physical readiness and recovery needs from exercise.
•Research: Contribute to scientific understanding of immune system dynamics and individual variations. Contribute to personalized cancer vaccine and targeted cell therapy development, making “cold” tumors more responsive to immunotherapy. What are the latest advancements in immunotherapy response testing?
•Blood test advancements : Using blood draws instead of your tumor tissue enables less invasive monitoring of your cancer, which is particularly useful for hard-to-access tumors like brain metastases.
•High-resolution immune system analysis : Detailed sequencing of white blood cells (T cell and B cell receptors) and using AI and machine learning can identify response patterns and identify unique antigens for potential vaccine or cell therapy development.
•Early response and adverse event prediction : Identifying immune system (T cell receptor) signatures that correlate with immunotherapy response, potentially predicting response within 2-3 months of treatment start and helping you decide whether to continue or switch treatments; tracking your immune repertoire changes before and after treatment can identify potential side effects and adverse events early and personalize your treatment. What are the key challenges in applying immune system analysis to rare cancer types with low mutational burden?
•Limited existing data : Rare cancers have fewer samples, which makes it harder to develop reliable AI models and predictive signatures.
•Slower treatment development : Creating targeted therapies like TCR-T cell treatments requires extensive validation and may take longer for rare cancer types for target antigen identification and validation. How can you access Omniscope's groundbreaking technology for your personal healthcare journey?
•Pursue their new comprehensive immune system health report for research on professional athletes, currently $2,000-$5,000 for one-year access and requires traveling to Barcelona for blood sample
•Ask your oncologist whether non-standard cancer treatment response prediction would be useful for you. How can you learn more?
•Go to Omniscope's website and create a free account to view their sample data, research, and videos.
•See our discussion with Keith Wharton "Bringing Novel Immune System Tests from Research to Clinical Use"
•See our discussion with Heather Tomlinson “How MSI and Other Tests Can Guide Immunotherapies for Cancer Treatment”
•Contact Simo Arredouani at simo@omniscope.ai for the most current logistics and prices for accessing their consumer-facing immune health services. The information and opinions expressed on this website or platform, or during discussions and presentations (both verbal and written) are not intended as health care recommendations or medical advice by Cancer Patient Lab, its principals, presenters, participants, or representatives for any medical treatment, product, or course of action. You should always consult a doctor about your specific situation before pursuing any health care program, treatment, product or other course of action that might affect your health. Meeting Notes KEYWORDS Cancer immunology, T cell receptors, B cell receptors, Omniscope, single cell genomics, AI models, immune system, cancer therapy, TCR sequences, minimal residual disease, autoimmune disease, vaccine development, bone marrow transplant, immune health, FC Barcelona. SPEAKERS Simo Arredouani (75%), Brad Power (9%), Nina Senna (7%), Richard Anders (3%), Rick Davis (2%), Cindy Ness (2%), Alane Watkins (1%), Sandra Balladares (1%) CHAT CONTRIBUTORS Alane Watkins, Nina Senna, Koryn DelPrince, Rick Davis, Helen, Sandra Balladares, David Plunkett SUMMARY Simo Arredouani, a cancer immunologist, discussed Omniscope's technology, which processes 1 million cells per sample, 100 times more than competitors. This technology aids in diagnostics and therapeutics, including T cell and B cell therapies. It can detect minimal residual disease, autoimmune diseases, and viral infections. Arredouani highlighted a collaboration with FC Barcelona to track athletes' immune health. The technology can predict treatment responses, potentially saving time and money. Omniscope's early access program for immune health assessments costs around $2,000-$5,000. The goal is to stratify patients and improve cancer treatment efficacy. OUTLINE Introductions, Simo Arredouani's Background, and Omniscope Overview
•Our purpose was to discuss cancer immunology with Simo Arredouani, a cancer immunologist and PhD in immunology from Harvard Medical School.
•Simo introduced himself and explained his background in cancer immunology and immunotherapy, including his work at Genius Bio and Tele Therapeutics.
•Simo introduced Omniscope, a tech-bio company based in Barcelona, and mentioned key team members like Vijay (CEO), Lynette (Chief Growth Officer), Holger (Scientist), and Matt (Chief Information Officer), and Nina.
•The immune system is important in fighting cancer, and T cells and B cells have a role in immunity.
•Omniscope's technology processes 100 times more cells than competitors, allowing for detailed analysis of TCR and BCR sequences. Omniscope's Technology and Applications
•Omniscope's technology can be used for diagnostics, therapeutics, target discovery, and licensing TCR sequences for T cell therapy.
•Examples of how the technology can detect minimal residual disease in various cancers and decipher the autoimmune nature of diseases like small fiber neuropathy.
•The ability to detect viral infections and monitor immune responses to antiviral treatments using Omniscope's high-resolution detection.
•The technology can classify different cancers based on T cell and B cell signatures and rank patients on an immunological scale. Case Studies and Collaborations
•Simo shares a study on brain metastasis, showing the high overlap between tumor, cerebrospinal fluid, and blood samples, making blood testing a reliable alternative.
•He discusses the use of Omniscope's technology in cancer vaccines, which can track the evolution of the immune response with high accuracy.
•Simo describes a collaboration with Immacor, which has an FDA-approved TCR bispecific for advanced melanoma, and how Omniscope helped identify mechanisms of action and adverse events.
•He explains how the technology can predict adverse events in immunotherapy and identify drug efficacy early in treatment. T Cell and B Cell Repertoires
•Richard Anders asked about the diversity of T cell receptors and how Omniscope deals with HLA types. Simo explained the importance of HLA alleles and the challenges of predicting TCR sequences without considering HLA.
•Richard also inquires about the isotypes of TCRs and antibodies, and Simo clarifies that they focus on alpha-beta TCRs.
•Brad and Simo discuss the importance of understanding HLA for bone marrow transplants and the potential for Omniscope's technology to track immune rejection and GVHD. Rare Cancers and Therapeutic Applications
•Alane Watkins asks about the application of Omniscope's technology to rare cancers like thymoma, which have few mutations. Simo explains that while vaccines may not be viable, TCR T cell therapies can be developed using Omniscope's technology.
•Helen asks about monitoring the efficacy of Avastin for rare ovarian cancer. Nina explains that while they have experience with similar monoclonal antibodies, they would need to conduct a clinical trial to develop a signature for predicting response.
•Simo adds that they are working on expanding their technology to other cancer types and therapies. Consumer Access and Future Directions
•Cindy Ness asks about the practical application of Omniscope's technology for patients. Simo explains that while it is not yet available as a standard clinical tool, they are working towards regulatory approval and collaboration with hospitals.
•Simo mentions a product for assessing immune health in the general population and a collaboration with FC Barcelona to track the immune health of professional athletes.
•Nina adds that they have launched an early access program for consumers to explore their immune health, with plans to expand this service. Q&A Session: Cold Tumors and Research Applications
•Rick Davis asks about the potential of Omniscope's technology to turn cold tumors into hot tumors. Simo explains that while they can identify T cells that recognize tumor antigens, they cannot currently turn a cold tumor into a hot tumor.
•Simo discusses the broader applications of their technology in transplantation, autoimmunity, and immunodeficiency, and their mission to help patients and advance scientific discovery.
•Brad Power wraps up the meeting, thanking Simo and the audience for their participation and questions.
Full transcript
Brad Power This is the Cancer Patient Lab. We're honored to have Simo Arredouani with us today, who is a friend of mine working with Omniscope. We have a couple of other Omniscope representatives present, Nina and Vijay. I met Vijay and Holger Heyn at JPM in San Francisco. I think we stood in the middle of a hotel lobby. If you've ever been to JPM, it’s this crazy “madhouse” of people, but that's where we met.
I got to know them through a friend of mine, Damian Balsan, who's an investor in Omniscope. Standard disclaimers before we get started: first of all, this is for information purposes only. This is not medical advice. We try to arm our patients with information they can take to their medical team. Second, this will all be made public.
If you're concerned about your image, your name, or anything you say being made public, you can hide your video, change your name, and not say anything. Finally, we are a nonprofit 501c3, and we exist on the kindness of volunteers who help run the operation and rely on donations. org . Simo Arredouani 2:04 Thank you so much for the opportunity to talk to your audience. Usually, we talk to immunologists, where we speak a different kind of language.
I will try to simplify for better understanding. We will also have a Q&A at the end. I'm a cancer immunologist. I have a PhD in immunology; I trained in cancer immunology and immunotherapy at Harvard Medical School. I used to head a lab at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. People in the Boston area may recognize the hospital.
I then left for “the dark side” in Cambridge, where I first started at Agenus, an immuno-oncology company doing vaccines, checkpoint inhibitors, and cell therapies. I then settled for five years at Intellia therapeutics, where I was doing a lot of cell therapies. I'm sure you heard about cell therapies, because, now, they are very fashionable. These therapies involve CAR T cells, CAR-NK cells, and T cell receptors ( TCRs).
It was during that job that I had a lot of exposure with TCRs. There, I used some of the technologies that looked into TCRs, identified sequences, completed all of the TCR work, and developed therapies. We were fortunate enough to take a product to phase one. That was a very satisfying achievement. I recently joined Omniscope, which I'm going to introduce today. Omniscope is a tech-bio company based in Barcelona.
In the audience, we have two of the co-founders. We have Vijay and Lynette. Vijay is the CEO; Lynette the chief growth officer. Holger is a scientist who is very well-known in the field of single cell genomics. His lab is in Barcelona, right next to where Omniscope is located. Matt is our chief information officer who takes care of all informatics and the very important artificial intelligence part of the company.
As you know, the immune system is extremely important in fighting against cancer. I’m certain that people who did not believe in the immune system’s importance before 2010 are now convinced that you can actually harness the power of immunity against cancer. We have a bunch of antibodies and cell therapies that work. We have some cytokines. We have the vaccine. We have a TCR bispecific. We have a couple bispecifics.
There is no doubt that the immune system is important. The fight against cancer is driven mostly by T cells; there is also a role for B cells. A lot of my slides will be about T cells today, but we treat T cells and B cells equally as we have products for both cell types.
T cells are endowed with a receptor called T cell receptor (TCR), as you can see on the diagram, which is a dimer receptor composed of two proteins that align, find the tumor, recognize it in a specific way, and trigger activation of the cell to attack the tumor. Our T cell repertoire is extremely broad and diverse. Our immunity is built to recognize everything that comes in, such as viruses or bacteria.
They are also designed to recognize cancers, because cancers are unusual tissues, but they also recognize our antigens, and that's why some of us have autoimmune disease. How do you really profile all this diversity and make sense of it?
Want to learn more about your specific case?
Upload your medical records and ask Navis questions tailored to your diagnosis.