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Injecting a herd of a patient’s own white cells known to kill that patient’s malignant skin cancer is effective court-of-last-resort therapy for advanced melanoma resistant to other treatments.  A multi-site study of 153 with such tumors showed that this treatment known as TIL or Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes induced significant tumor regression in 31% of patients, complete elimination of detectable tumor in 5%, and continuing tumor control at 18 months in 42%.

In response to these exciting results, the FDA has approved the use of this therapy, marketed as Amtagvi with lifileucel as the generic by Iovance Biotherapeutics,  Amtagvi is not a drug but rather a process.  A patient’s persistent or recurrent melanoma is surgically excised and so-called tumor infiltrating lymphocytes or TILs are harvested from the tumor.  These immune T lymphocytes are then grown outside the body into a battalion uniquely capable of killing that patient’s tumor.  The patient receives these cells back as a one-time injection.  The entire process requires about 22 days.

The processes used to capture and amplify TILs were developed at the National Cancer Institute by the ionic chief of the Institute’s Surgery Branch and head of its tumor immunology section, Dr. Steven Rosenberg.

A Phase 3 randomized trial is now underway to confirm these encouraging findings to date.  Meanwhile, Amtagvi is available for those who might benefit from it.  The treatment isn’t cheap at about half a million dollars.

TIL therapy holds great promise as yet another weapon in our growing armametarium that will capably control and vanquish all cancer…..someday soon.

https://jitc.bmj.com/content/10/12/e005755

https://www.cancerhealth.com/article/fda-approves-amtagvi-new-type-immunotherapy-melanoma

#melanoma #til #tumorinfiltratinglymphocyctes #Amtagvi #lifileucel #rosenberg #nci #fda