STING1 and neoplasm: Based on the published data defining a subgroup of SCLC patients, where responders to immunotherapy were classified as “inflamed” (9, 10) patients that express high levels of innate immune pathway genes, such as the STING pathway, and other preclinical data supporting STING levels as potential biomarkers of a response to combination chemo- and immunotherapy (11, 12), it was hypothesized that activation of the innate immune pathways may represent a tool that can be used to investigate anti-tumor immune activity in vitro.